The Raven Rose and her thorns
by SlyFox221216
Summary: 'Ellie, her bump and Cooper reached the group just as the sky began to darken. She shook her head sadly when questioned about the girl and walked silently over to a car. The thought of a child missing in the woods made Ellie clutch her own stomach instinctively.' Ellie and her dog Cooper are left in a strange new world. Can they find a family to trust? Can she learn to love again?
1. Chapter 1

Hi, my names Amy. This is my very first walking dead fanfiction, and so I hope you all enjoy it. I would like to point out that my story is based around the walking dead television series, but not completely to script. There may be some differences to the story you are used to, but I hope you enjoy it. I don't own any of the characters or ideas that you recognize. Happy reading

Chapter one: The world had gone to shit.

The air was hot and still thanks to the high September sun, causing several smalls beads of sweat to make their way down Ellie Lawns forehead and drip onto her nose. She paused for a second, dropping the weight of the bag from her back down onto the floor and moving her shoulders in small circular motions with a groan. She had been walking for miles, and as her stomach gave a growl, so knew that she needed to find a place to rest for a while and eat. She wiped her head with the back of her hand and puffed a strand of hair out of her eyes. Glancing behind her she saw Cooper, her friendly companion, sniffing at an open bag on the floor. Cooper had met Ellie when they had both been hiding from the dead in a small, crooked shed a few months back, and now they depended on each other for safety and company. Cooper gave a small huff when the smell didn't reveal any delicious treats and looked up towards Ellie.

"I know Coop, you're hungry. We'll eat soon." She muttered to the dog, tapping her leg so that he came bounding towards her.

He was a beautiful grey, built tall and strong, with a long tail that Ellie loved running her hands through. Ellie herself was a small, skinny woman. She has recently had her twenty second birthday, not that that mattered anymore, at least not in this world. She had black hair that fell in curls to her neck, and bright cobalt eyes that stood out from her pale complexion. And then of course, there was the bump. Not large enough to be too noticeable yet, but definitely there, was a tiny human that she had yet to meet. Unplanned but not unloved, Ellie had discovered she was pregnant three weeks ago when she woke up four mornings in a row with sickness. She knew for a fact how many weeks gone she was. Twelve long, tough weeks had passed since the incident. Ellie had barely managed to escape alive. It taught her a valuable lesson that she would hold with her. It was not just the dead that was to be feared.

A small shuffling sound to her left made Ellie's head snap. She bend down low and beckoned Cooper to her side. She reached into her pocket at the back of her jeans and pulled out a knife. The creature came around the corner of an abandoned car and into Ellie's line of sight. Not quite human anymore, the man slouched as he shuffled closer, his eyes dead and sunken. His skin was colored a light grey and sagged around his face. His clothes were ripped and torn and covered in blood. Blood also covered the majority of his face and dripped from the corners of his mouth. A gash was missing from his shoulder where he had been bitten by another and he let out a light moaning sound as he stretched his arms out in front of him, eyes locked solely on Ellie.

Ellie looked sadly at the dead man that was advancing towards her and sighed. She put her hand out to Cooper, who sat down at the sight of the signal, and took a few steps towards the unnamed man. Lifting the knife high into the air, she bought it back down and pierced it into his head just as he reached her. He instantly fell to the ground, making Ellie fall onto her knees next to him. She took a few breaths and then stood herself up, rejoining Cooper.

"Forty seven Coop. Make sure you keep count." She joked to the dog, and with a sigh she picked up her backpack from the ground and swung it onto her back. "Come on, let's find somewhere to rest. I'm sure you're just as tired as I am."

After another hour or so, Ellie headed towards a small house on the edge of the town. She halted at the doorway and knocked hard on the wooden door. Listening closely, she didn't hear any movement.

"I think its ok Coop." she whispered, reaching down to the handle and twisting it.

The door opened with ease and she stepped forward into the room with Cooper following close behind. After checking each room in the building, she sat herself down onto the dusty sofa and let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding. Cooper came and sat at her feet, resting his head on her knees. She reached a hand down and stroked the soft fur behind his ears and watched as he closed his eyes, content.

After filling their stomachs and sleeping, Ellie and Cooper had repacked and were ready to set out again the following day. The hot sun had disappeared today, and instead a drizzly rain was falling hard from the darkened sky. They made their way around the woods, careful to avoid any sign of the dead.

Once they had been walking for quite some time, Ellie heard a sudden scream that made her freeze. The sound had unquestionably came from a small child, there was no doubt. Cooper snarled low and his stance was tense. Ellie spun to the direction the sound came from and swiftly made her way towards it. After running for a few minutes Ellie stopped and looked around. She had reached a small creek, covered in moss and plants. She couldn't see anyone and as she stopped to listen, she couldn't hear anything over the sound of her own thudding heart beat in her ears. She looked down at Cooper who was still growling softly and frowned as she saw that he was staring off into the trees on their right.

"You sense someone Coop?" she questioned the dog aloud.

She sunk down into a crouch and made her way slowly towards the trees, knife raised ready to strike. As she reached the edge of the trees, she heard a low grunting, followed by the sound of a twig snapping. She stepped forward and moved around the tree, taking in the sigh before her. A man, alive and fighting, was on his back on the floor crawling backwards as two of the dead slouched towards him. He reached around his head and grabbed a large rock, using it to smash the closest dead person in the head. He whirled around, ready to take down the second one, but there was no need. Ellie had ran out of the shadows of the tree branches and struck the second one in the head, falling on top of it as it dropped face down on the ground.

There was silence, and then their eyes met and they both looked at each other in shock. Before either one of them could move, Cooper had jumped in front of Ellie and was snarling at the stranger, teeth bared.

"Woah there, easy." Said the stranger, holding his hands up and eying the dog with unease. "Mind calling him off?"

"Cooper, come here." Ellie pushed herself up and came to a standing position, using her hand to beckon the growling dog towards her. "He doesn't like strangers."

"A good thing too." The man took a step backwards. "My name is Rick. Rick Grimes. Thank you for your help."

"Ellie." Ellie replied, nodding her head at the thank you. "Close call."

Rick laughed. "Ahh, I've had closer. Are you on your own out here?" His eyes left Cooper and he looked back up at Ellie with questioning eyes.

"What's it to you?" Ellie knew better than to answer too many questions without asking a few herself. Cooper sat down at her feet and kept his eyes on Rick.

"It's a dangerous world to be on your own in." he said, gesturing to the bodies on the ground a few feet from them.

"I'm not alone, I have Cooper." She replied defensively.

"I'm sure he great company!" Rick agreed. "Look, you look like you are alone here, and I have a group. People… children. It means protection and there is safety in numbers." He began to move to pass me. "I have to get back to Sophia, she's just through here. If you're interested, follow me."

He disappeared through the trees that Ellie had just come through. She looked down at Cooper and frowned. "What do you think buddy? We do ok on our own… do you think we should check these people out?" She paced towards the trees and paused, talking aloud. "I mean, at some point, we're going to have to trust someone again. He said there are children there… maybe they will be okay?"

As she pondered in thought, Rick's panicked face appeared through the trees, eyes wide and worried. She gave him a questioning look.

"Did you see her? Sophia? She's not there." He ran a hand through his hair and turned to face the creek.

"There was no one there when I walked by. I heard a child scream and came running this way." She explained, following Rick as he hurried back to the water.

"Yeah that was her. She was being chased by some walkers and I ran to help her. I hid her here." He pointed to a small hole under a tree. "She must have headed back to the group!"

He stumbled a little and began to head towards their left, calling out the name Sophia as he went. She glanced down at Cooper and then began to follow him, keeping a little behind and scanning the woodland area for any sign of the missing child. Once they reached the edge of the trees, she saw a group of people stood around the low barrier next to the road. Rick ran to meet them, and Ellie hung back slightly with Cooper by her side. She could see Rick motioning to the trees as he said something she couldn't quite here, and then eyes were on her. A woman with short grey hair dropped to the floor, surrounded by arms and other woman. Two men advanced towards Ellie, eyes locked onto her. One of the men held a crossbow and had it pointed at her head. He had wavy brown hair and narrowed eyes. The other man, whose jaw was squared and hair was kept short, help a gun at her too. Cooper tensed and moved in front of Ellie, growling at the men and causing then to pause a few meters in front of her.

"Who are you?" The man with the gun demanded, eyeing Cooper with a nasty look.

"Rick asked me to come." She replied, ignoring his question. She made no move to defend herself or to call Cooper off. Her heart pounded against her chest.

"Ain't an answer lady. Who are you?" This time, he took a step forward and Cooper grew louder.

"I wouldn't come any closer if I were you." She warned, gesturing to the dog at her feet.

"Are you threatening me?" he spat, moving the gun down to point it at Cooper.

"No!" yelled Ellie. "Get that thing away from him." She made a move to grip her knife from her pocket.

"Shane!" shouted Rick. "She's with me. Drop your gun." Rick ran over and stood next to the man named Shane.

"With you?" questioned Shane, lowering his gun. She noticed the other man lowering his cross bow too. "Who the fuck is she?"

"Shane, Daryl, this is Ellie." Rick gestured to each person as he said their names. "And her dog Cooper." Ellie was surprised that he had remembered. "She helped me take on some walkers."

"Where's the kid?" muttered the guy that Rick had names Daryl.

"We thought she had ran back here. We got separated as I drew the walkers away, and when I got back to her, she was gone." Rick looked distraught. Both Shane and Daryl gave Rick a pat on the shoulder and headed back up to the others. "I'm sorry about that Ellie. It's hard to trust new people nowadays, you know."

Ellie nodded in agreement. Cooper had relaxed next to her once the men had walked away. "The asshole pointed a gun at my dog."

"I'm sorry." Rick looked sincere. "Come and meet everyone. It's a bad time, we need to hurry and get back out to find Carol's little girl."

Ellie followed Rick up the small slope and stopped just short of the group of people. The grey haired woman who had fallen to the floor was now sat on a car trunk with her head in her hands, and a small boy sat next to her, crying silently. Two woman eyed Ellie uncertainly, one with blond hair and the other with brown, her hand on the small boys shoulders. Rick whispered to me that they were called Andrea, Lori, Carl and Carol. He then pointed to an older man, Dale and a larger injured male named T dog.

"Hi, I'm Glenn." A skinny Asian boy said, nodding at me.

"Ellie." She replied, taking in all of the new people.

Rick introduces her to the group quietly and then set about getting some of the men together to go and search for the missing child.

"I can help." Ellie began. "I can search the woods with Cooper."

Shane scoffed at her, and shook his head. "We are fine."

"You need the help." Ellie interjected. "I'm offering to help."

Rick cut in before Shane could continue. "Thanks Ellie that would be great. You can take the right side. Who would you like to come with you?"

"I have Cooper. I'm good." She insisted. Rick looked unsure but didn't argue. He pointed to the different areas as he explained the plan and then they each step out.

..

After two hours of searching, Ellie decided to head back to the group. She had a horrible feeling in her gut because she was going to have to deliver the bad news. Coming across two of the dead in the woods, she had checked that they hadn't eaten recently. There hadn't been any fresh blood on their mouths. Climbing back through the woods, Ellie felt the weight of the day's events weigh her down. A new group. She was planning to join a new group. She felt uneasy about this decision but she had known for a while now that she needed people. Good people. She just hoped that they were it.

Ellie and Cooper reached the group just as the sky began to darken. She shook her head sadly when questioned about the little girl and walked silently over to a car that was parked a little way back from the group. Apparently the men had not found the girl either. It was a miserable atmosphere and the thought of a child missing in the wood made Ellie clutch her own stomach instinctively.


	2. Chapter 2

Hi, my names Amy.. I would like to point out that my story is based around the walking dead television series, but not completely to script. There may be some differences to the story you are used to, but I hope you enjoy it. I don't own any of the characters or ideas that you recognize. Happy reading

Chapter two- I still have something to live for.

Ellie bent over the red Honda's boot and emptied her rucksack onto the top. She had spent that last few hours searching the nearby cars for anything useful while the group set up for the morning ready to send out another search party to find the missing child. She reached out and grasped several cans as they began to roll down the car, standing them upright instead. A few cans of soup and a tin of bean. Three tins of dog meat. She sighed heavily at the thought of being so low on food. She grouped up the new resources that she had found and added them to her own pile. She made a mental inventory list of her belongings. A pile of clothes, two bottles of water, a spoon, a box of matches, and three spare knifes, some pain killers, duct tape, a few packets of batteries, a sewing kit, two flash lights, a blanket, a rope and packet of wipes. She opened the front pocket of her bag and pulled out her wash bag. Inside she held some soap, sanitary products, toothpaste and a tooth brush. Her hair brush was balanced on top. Attached to the rucksack, she had hung a clear plastic bag that contained her sleeping bag and an old torn pillow for Cooper.

Her bag was worn and had a tear at the bottom so she threw it down to the ground and repacked everything into a rucksack she had found earlier. As she began to walk back to the RV, a car to her left caught her eye. Inside the muddy window, she saw a baby car seat. Her forehead wrinkled into a sad frown as she saw the blood on the seat. Coming around the back of the car, she opened up the boot and saw several trunks of clothes. Reaching forward, she pulled out a tiny white baby vest.

Ellie closed her eyes and let her head fall down. Her anxiety bubbles up inside her stomach. She had to focus on breathing to the count of ten and then reopened her eyes again. She grasped two more of the baby vests and a small cream sleep suit from the trunk and threw them into her backpack before she had a chance to change her mind. She closed the boot and carried on back to the group.

The atmosphere is tense. Most people were resting, or trying to at the very least. Rick sat in his car, talking quietly to Lori, and Ellie could see that their son Carl is asleep in the back seat. She could hear the soft sobs of Carol from inside the RV and the occasional sound of Andrea as she reassured her that Sophia will be found in the morning. A few of the men were visible only as shadows on the top of the van, standing look out. Ellie climbed into the blue car that she had claimed a few hours earlier and sprawled out on the back seat. Cooper sat in the foot well, his head resting on Ellie's stomach, eyes closed and looking peaceful. It wasn't cold tonight, so she didn't bother getting out her blanket. She grazed her hand over Cooper's soft fur as she tried to let her mind wonder into sleep, something that took her hours now days.

…

A loud bang startled Ellie awake and her eyes flashed open. Cooper was already alert, eyeing the window of the car with unease. As she sat herself up, she could see a group of people gathered at the car that Rick and his family had been sleeping in. Ellie gave Cooper a reassuring rub before she opened the door and stepped out into the breezy air. She walked over and joined the group cautiously.

"So it's decided, we stick together and take no risks. Everyone takes a weapon" Rick says to the group, looking around at each of them while he led a roll of weapons out on the top of the car. Andrea looked annoyed at the two leaders in front of her, and Ellie noticed that she kept eyeing the gun in Shane's pocket.

"The idea is to take the creek up about five miles, turn around and come back down the other side. Chances are that she'll be by the creek. It's her only land mark. Stay quiet, stay sharp. Keep space between you but always stay within sight of each other." Daryl points to his right, into the thick tree line.

"Keep on those repairs, we need the RV ready to move." Shane informs Dale.

Everyone, except T dog and Dale, got their things ready and set off into the forest. Rick and Shane took the lead, Andrea, Glenn, Carol, Lori and Carl in the middle and Daryl, Ellie and Cooper took the rear.

"Do you think we'll find her?" Ellie dared to mutter to the man next to her, carful to keep quiet enough that her voice wouldn't reach Carol's ears.

"Yeah, I reckon so." He mumbled. "She wouldn't have wondered too far."

Ellie nodded silently, keeping her eyes on the woods to her side, alert. Cooper bounded alongside her, sniffing occasionally at a tree or some leaves.

"Loyal dog you've got yourself there." Daryl commented after twenty minutes or so of silent walking, eyeing Copper. "You have him before this shit started?"

"No. We met- "Ellie stopped short of her sentence as she came into view of a large orange tent. "Sophia?" She questioned to Daryl and Glen as they looked at each other. Both men gave a shrug.

Rick motioned for Daryl to come closer to the front and asked Carol to call out softly. When no reply came, Daryl unzipped the tent and everyone held their noses as an awful smell rose into the air. No Sophia, only a man with nothing left to live for. Ellie instinctively put her hand up to her undetectable bump. She still had something left to live for.

After the disappointment, the group carried on in silence until the clanging sound of a bell rang through the air, startling everyone. Worried faces turned to the left and right.

"It could be her." Rick said. "Ringing the bell."

"Or someone signaling that they've found her?" Andrea commented.

"Which way?" Shane questioned.

"This way. I'm pretty sure." Rick ran to his Left and the group followed behind.

They stumbled out into a clearing, where a single, small, white church stood, surrounded by a grave yard.

"That can't be it. Ain't a steeple or bells." Shane shook his head. "Rick-"

Rick ran forward, towards the church and everyone shadowed. Ellie strained her neck to try and see any sign of the little girl. When they reached the bright red door, Rick motioned for everyone to be quiet as he knocked on the door, pushing it open. Glenn and Shane stood with their guns ready, and Daryl took aim with this cross bow. Three walkers sat inside and immediately made to stand up at the sound of the group's entrance.

Shane, Daryl and Rick each moved forward and pulled out their knifes, stabbing the dead in the skulls, and letting them fall to the ground. The room was full of a damp, musky smell and there was dust on the pews. It was a miserable sight.

"Sophia!?" Several people shouted, opening the doors in the room to look for the little girl. Ellie hung back, keeping her eyes on the woods outside for any signs of danger. The bell continued to sound and the group ran back through the doors and around to the outside where they came across an electronic box for the bells. Glenn shut it off quickly, and turned back to the rest of the group.

"It a timer." Daryl pants. "It's on a damn timer."

Carol's face fell into broken despair and she quietly asked for a few minutes inside. Everyone split off, still searching the grounds in less hope than before for Sophia. Ellie bent down and sat on the steps by the door. Cooper came and led down at her feet. She glanced around at the group of people in front of her. Andrea, sat with a sour look on her face, held her head in her hands. Lori had begun talking quietly to Shane under a nearby tree and they both look pissed off. Ellie caught a few snippets of their heated discussion.

"None of this was intended Lori." Shane grumbles.

"So you're just going to disappear?!" Lori questions angrily.

Ellie's frown deepened, and she stood up to move away. Their conversation sounded private and Ellie didn't want to intrude. She walked over to Glenn.

"I'm sorry she wasn't here." Ellie said to him, as she took in his sad features.

"Yeah, I'm sorry too. Poor Carol." He glanced to his left at the broken woman visible inside the church. "Thank you for helping us. It shows that you're one of the good ones, helping find someone that you've never even met."

Ellie smiled slightly. "It's nothing. It's the human thing to do after all. We still need to remember who and what we are, even if the world has gone to shit."

Glenn laughed quietly at her comment, before switching to a worried frown again.

Shane and Rick called the groups attention a short while later. It had been decided that Rick, Shane and, after much convincing of Lori, Carl would stay behind to search a little while longer and the rest of the group is to head back before it gets dark.

Daryl took the lead, and once again Ellie and Cooper hung back slightly behind the rest of the group. Ellie noticed the obvious glares that Andrea threw in Lori's direction every now and again.

"So this is it?" Carol moaned in distress after a few minutes of walking up the river. "This was the whole plan?"

"I guess the plan is to whittle us down into smaller and smaller groups." Daryl mumbled back.

"Carrying knifes and pointy sticks." Lori said, wiping her brow with her hand and pausing to look around.

"I see you have a gun." Andrea muttered harshly at Lori. Ellie frowned at the woman's tone. Surly that wasn't a reason to be so angry at Lori, she thought to herself.

Lori whirled around and stood in front of Andrea. "Why, you want it? Here, take it. I'm sick of the looks you're giving me." She held the gun out in front of her and then looked around at the rest of the group. "All of you." She turned to Carol. "Honey, I can't imagine what you're going through, and I would do anything to stop it, but you have got to stop blaming Rick. It is in your face every time you look at him. When Sophia ran he didn't hesitate, did he?"

Ellie felt awkward listening to their conversation. It seems that this group have their problems like most. She noticed that Andrea now looked down at the floor and no one seemed to want to hold Lori's eye contact. Cooper huffed lightly at the arguing group, and Ellie stuck a hand out to reassure him.

Lori looked angrily at the group. "Not for a second. I don't know that any of us would have gone after her the way that he did or made the hard decisions that he had to make, or that anybody could have done it any differently. Anyone?" she looked around exasperated. "Y'all look to him and then you blame him when he's not perfect. If you thing you can do this without him, go right ahead. Nobody is stopping you."

Lori sighed heavily and stuffed her gun back into her jeans.

"We should keep moving." Daryl said quietly, and everyone began to walk towards the RV once again, no one talking or even looking at each other.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three.

Lori glanced back anxiously again.

"You're still worrying about it?" Ellie asked Lori, turning back herself and eyeing the trees.

"It was a gunshot. Why just one?" Lori frowned.

"Maybe they just took down a walker?" Andrea questioned. Lori threw her a scowl.

"Don't patronize me. You know Rick wouldn't risk a gunshot to put down one walker. They'd do it quietly."

Glenn looked worried too. "Shouldn't they have caught up with us by now?"

Daryl huffed. "Ain't anything we can do about it now anyway. Can't go running around the woods chasing echoes."

"So what do we do?" Carol asked, worried.

"Same as we've been doing. Beating the bush for Sophia and making our way up to the highway." Daryl instructed, waving his arms in the direction they needed to go. "I'm sure they hook up with us back at the RV."

Everyone started walking again, and carol and Andrea had their heads bent in discussion. Ellie tapped her leg to beckon Cooper to her side when he didn't follow at first. "Come on Coop." she said, holding out her hand to the dog, and smiling as he bounded towards her.

"How much further?" Lori asked Daryl after almost twenty minutes.

"Not too far. Maybe about a hundred yards as the crow flies." He replied, pushing through some leaves.

"Too bad we aren't crows." Ellie joked back, stumbling slightly on the uneven ground. Daryl gave a small smile in response.

Suddenly Cooper gave a low growl and stared off to his right. Ellie's head snapped up at the exact moment that Andrea let out a small scream.

"Andrea?" Ellie cried, running to the screaming girl. A whirling sound shot past Ellie as Daryl fired an arrow into the skull for the walker on top of Andrea, hitting it square in the face. "No, no, no." Andrea cried, grasping Ellie's hand as she crawled out from under the dead person.

"It's ok, Daryl got it. You're ok." Ellie reassured her, pulling her back towards the others, as everyone asked her if she was ok.

Daryl moved forward and pulled out the arrow from the walker's head, wiping it off with a rag and stuffing it back into his crossbow. At that moment, a distant sound started to become louder and closer, and everyone snapped their eyes to the space behind Daryl. As he turned around, weapons at the ready, a horse burst through the tree line, with a woman on its back. The horse was a beautiful silky brown, and shook its head as the woman pulled it to a stop. She was a tall, lean woman, with short brunette hair and tanned skin. She wore a checked shirt and a pair of clean blue jeans, and looked fresh and well kept. Cooper snarled at the new arrival and Ellie placed a hand on his head.

"Lori?" The mystery woman called. "Lori Grimes?"

"I'm Lori." Lori cried, surprising everyone, as she ran up to the stranger.

"Rick sent me. You've got to come now. There's been an accident-"

"Whoa." Daryl shouted, shaking his head at Lori, eyeing the stranger with narrowed eyes.

"Please, Carl's been shot. He's alive but you've got to come now." The urgency in the woman's voice was clear and alarming.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Daryl called. "We don't know this girl. You can't get on that horse!"

The woman turned to him. "Rick said you have others on the highway. In that big traffic snarl? Back track to Fairburn road, two miles down is our farm. You'll see the mail box. Name's green." She reached down and pulled Lori up onto the back of the horse with her outstretched hand. "Hi-yah!"

The horse ran back through the trees, carrying the two woman on its back, and leaving the rest of the group in the small gap between the trees.

"What-?" Glenn began, staring at the place where they had left.

Daryl growled low, and threw his crossbow over his shoulder. "Come on, we need to get back to the RV. Now." He began walking.

After another ten minutes or so, the group reached the edge of the trees that sat on the side of the highway. They could see Dale sat on the top of the van, looking at them through binoculars, and Ellie assumed that T dog must be inside. They all but ran to meet Dale, and got there as he reached the last step of the ladder.

Glenn quickly filled him in on what had just happened, and Dale let out a small puff of air.

"And you just let her? He questioned them.

Daryl shot him a look. "Climb down out of my asshole, man. Rick sent her. She knew Lori and Carl's names." He snapped. He walked away towards a nearby car and kicked at the wheels.

"He's right, she seemed to know them, and she was really worried for them." Ellie said, perching on top of Rick's car. Dale looked at her for a minute and then nodded.

"We can't just leave! Sophia!" Carol cried, looking between the faces of the group. "What if she comes back and we aren't here?"

"It could happen." Glenn agreed.

"Okay, we've got to plan for this." Daryl said, walking back to join everyone. "I say tomorrow is soon enough to pull up stakes. Give us a chance to rig up a sign, a big sign, and leave it here for her. Leave her some supplies too." He looks at Carol for her reaction. She nods. "I'll stay here tonight, stay with the RV."

If the RV is staying, then I am too." Dale interjected, motioning towards the van.

"Thank you, thank you both." Carol cried.

"If you're staying then I am too-"Glenn began, before Daryl shook his head and interrupted.

"No, not you. You're going. Take Carol's car."

"Why me?" Glenn moaned

"You have to find this farm, reconnect with our people, and find out what's going on. You also need to get T dog there. This is not an option." Daryl eyed T dog, who had moved to sit in the doorway of the van, and grimaced.

"That cut has gone from bad to worse. He has a very serious blood infection." Dale informed everyone, but directed it at Glenn. "Get him to that farm, see it they have anything for him."

Daryl's eyes left T dog and wondered over to the motorcycle that was sat in front of the RV. He walked over there and pulled out a white sack from the box under the seat. After a second of searching, he pulled out a box and threw it to Glenn, who caught it with ease.

"What's this?" Glenn questioned, turning the box over in his hands.

"Some kick ass pain killers. Doxycycline. Its first class." Daryl informed them. "My brother's stash. Merle got the clap on occasion."

"Sounds like a first class man." Ellie mumbled to Andrea who let out a small laugh.

Glenn got everything together and he and T dog got into Carol's car and drove away, waving a small goodbye to the group as they passed.

The air was silent and still. The night sky had settled quickly and darkness was left to fill the space. The moon was full tonight, round and white in the contrasting black of the sky. The stars were clearly visible and bright. It would have been the perfect night for star gazing, if it wasn't for the fact that you couldn't take your eyes off the trees around you, for fear that you'd end up as one of the walking dead. Ellie sat with Cooper on the hood of the blue car that they had slept in the night before. Cooper was entwined in her legs and looked content and happy after his meal. A full belly makes everyone feel better.

Ellie was picking at an oat bar she had been given by Dale but her anxiety had made it hard to stomach any food, no matter how much her tummy growled at her. She put a hand down and rested it on the top of her stomach. The feeling of having another life to look out for, another body to protect, and another mouth to feed was frightening. She let out a small gasp of air that she hadn't realized she had been holding in, and felt a cold drop of water fall onto her wrist. Was she crying? She wiped her cheek with the back of her hand and felt the wetness of the tears on her skin. Quickly, she used the edge of her jumper to wipe the rest away, not wanting to draw any attention of the people around her. She would be fine, she kept telling herself. It will all be ok.

"I'm going to walk the road, look for the girl." She heard Daryl inform Dale. She guessed that he too was trying to distract himself from the sound of Carol's sobs.

"Can I come too?" Ellie said, untangling herself from Cooper and jumping down from the hood of the car. Daryl hadn't stopped at the sound of her voice, so she had to sprint to catch up with him. Cooper loped after her. "Did you hear me?" she questioned.

"Yeah, I heard you. Do whatever you want." He mumbled coldly.

Ellie sighed lightly and followed after him, making their way down towards the trees by the road. After walking for a little while, Ellie glanced up at Daryl. "You really think she's still nearby?"

"You've got that same look on your face as everyone else. What the hell is wrong with you people? We just started looking." He grumbled, shining his torch left and right.

Ellie stayed silent for a minute before asking, "well, do you?"

"It ain't the mountains of Tibet. It's Georgia. She could be hauled up in a farm house somewhere. People get lost and they survive. It happens all the time." Daryl remarked.

"She only a child though." Ellie frowns. How could he have so much faith that she'll be found?

"Hell, I was younger than that when I got lost. Nine days in the woods eating berries, wiping my ass with poison oak." Daryl sounded bitter.

"They found you?" Ellie asked. She looked back to make sure that it was clear before turning to face Daryl again.

"My old man was off on a bender with some waitress, merle was doing another stint in juvie. Didn't even know I was missing." His voice was low and quiet. Ellie shot him a sad look. "I made my way back. Went straight into the kitchen and made myself a sandwich. No worse for wear, except my ass itched something awful."

Ellie let out a small giggle, and Daryl gave a half smile. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't laugh. That's a terrible story."

Daryl gave a small chuckle in response. "The difference is that Sophia has people looking for her. I'd call that an advantage."

"That's very true-"Ellie stopped short of her sentence as a smell hit her nose. Daryl made a face of disgust and pointed to the tree. There hung a body. A dead, wriggling, groaning body.

"Got bit, fever hit, world gone to shit, might as well quit." Ellie read the words that the man had written.

"Dumbass didn't know to shoot himself in the damn head?" Daryl said. "Turned himself into a swinging piece of bait."

Ellie looked down at the walkers legs and noticed that the bottom of his legs had been stripped raw to the bone. She felt the bile rise up in her throat, and she ran over to the nearest bush and vomited. She let out a groan and wiped her mouth with the end of her sleeve. Cooper whined and pawed at Ellie's feet.

"You alright?" Daryl asked, glancing over at her.

"I'm fine, can we talk about something else? How did you learn to shoot?" Ellie focused on not collapsing, and gripped the arm of a tree for support.

"Gotta eat." Daryl shrugged. "Didn't have a choice but to learn pretty quickly. Guess this guy didn't realise he'd be an easy meal to other walkers when he opted out."

"Urgh, I thought we were changing the subject Daryl!" Ellie angrily whispers, glaring at the man in front of her.

"Call it pay back for laughing at my itchy ass." He smirks, and then glances around. "Let's head back."

"You can't just leave him here!" Ellie cries, looking from Daryl to the walker. "It isn't right."

"He ain't hurting anyone." Daryl begins to walk again.

"Please Daryl. We can't."

"Ain't wasting an arrow on it. He made his choice, he opted out. Let him hang," Daryl mutters, turning back to look at her.

"Please." Ellie looks up at Daryl and he sighs.

"Fine. Waste of an arrow." He fires the arrow into the walker, right between the eyes, and the walker falls silent, unmoving.

"Thank you. I'll owe you one." Ellie says, following Daryl back through the trail.

"Or you can just answer some of my questions." He asked, eyeing her. She nodded. "Why didn't you have anyone else? No group or nothing according to Rick."

Ellie looked away into the forest as she spoke. "I did. Before-. I used to be with this group of people right at the start, a few months ago. They met me in my town and we traveled together. We were heading for Atlanta where they said it would be safe, but we got there and shit hit the fan. It was over run. We got out and we laid low. No one knew what to do, where to go. Things got a bit crazy and some of the men in our group got a little out of hand. They-. I left them. They weren't nice people, as it turns out. I ran."

Daryl glanced over at Ellie and frowned. "And you haven't met any others since? That must have meant you were on your own for weeks."

"Yeah. Ten weeks."

"And you are planning to stay with us?" he questioned, shining his light around.

"Yeah, maybe. Rick offered but I haven't answered him yet." Ellie looked up at Cooper as he went on ahead a little, sniffing at the ground. "It might be the best thing for us, and you all seem like good people."

Daryl didn't ask any more question, and they both walked back silently the rest of the way. When they reached the van again, Carol's sobs were no longer there and Ellie guessed that she must have fallen asleep. She climbed into the blue car that she had slept in the night previous and pulled her blanket out of her bag. Cooker climbed up at her feet and she covered them both in the blanket, letting sleep take over her body and dreaming of hanging walkers and a cross bow wielding red neck.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter four.

"There, she has some water, food and some previsions to keep her tight until we get back here for her." Andrea told Carol, as she showed her the top of the car.

"You can't miss the sign, if she comes back this way then she'll see it Carol." Ellie said softly. Carol gave them both a small smile and thanked them quietly. Ellie glanced around and saw Daryl walking over to where the three woman stood, Cooper followed closely behind him. She had wondered where her dog had got to.

"Y'all ready? We'll come back every day." Daryl directed this last part to Carol. Everyone gave a nod, and Ellie gave Cooper a pat on his head as they walk back to their cars.

"I see you've stolen my dog." She laughed to Daryl, who brushed Cooper on the ear with the back of his hand.

"Damn dog won't leave me be." He replied, turning up one side of his mouth into a half smile. Ellie let out a small, quiet laugh.

She hopped into the brown car that Andrea is driving, and Cooper climbed over into the back seat. Daryl pushed his motorcycle onto the back of Rick's car and climbed into the driver's seat, and the others climbed into the RV. Daryl led the way, as they left the highway. Ellie heaved a sigh as she watched the sign that they made for Sophia disappear in the mirror.

"I'm sorry if I haven't been the friendliest since you arrived Ellie, I really am. It's just that I've been through some pretty big shit lately, well who hasn't, but it's really knocked me back. My sister-." Andrea paused, and pinched her lips together.

"It's ok, you don't have to explain. I get it." Ellie replied, giving the woman next to her a sad smile.

A few moments passed in silence before Andrea said, "Thank you. And welcome to our fucked up end of the world party." They both let out a loud laugh.

They chatted a little more as they drove until they pulled into the turning that led down a long, narrow pathway up to a country farm house. It was beautiful, and it had been such a long time since Ellie had seen anything she could truly say looked so tranquil. This place looked untouched, frozen in a time before all of the world had fucked up. The neat hedges ran alongside the road, and the creamy color gravel was even and thick. The meadow that surrounded the house had a long, white, wooden fence that ran around the perimeter. There stood a large barn on the far side of the farm, and several horses grazed in the field to the left.

They pulled up outside the house, and everyone hopped out of the cars. Ricks appeared on the porch, along with Glenn and an old man with snowy white hair and tired eyes.

"How's Carl?" Dale asked as soon as they reached the three men.

"Stable and awake." Rick got out, his face full of emotion. "Everyone ok?"

"We're all good, left supplies and a sign on the highway for Sophia telling her to wait there for us to find her. Only thing we could do." Daryl informed him. Rick nodded and thanked him.

"This is Hershel. This is his farm, and he helped Carl out after one of his men accidently shot him in a hunting accident. He's said that we can pitch up camp on his land, while we all recover."

Once everyone had become acquainted on the porch, the group met Hershel's family, Maggie and Beth, his daughters, and his step son Shawn as well as Patricia. They were caught up in what had happened while they had been away. Shane and Otis, Patricia's husband who had accidently shot Carl, had gone out to try and find the things needed for Carl, and Otis had not made it back.

Camp was pitched around the side of the house, on a small grassy patch next to a small hill, and was shaded by several trees. Rick had already set up his and Lori's tent, and next to that stood Glenn and T dogs. Andrea, Carol and Dale drove the RV around to the camp and set up their beds in the back, and Daryl trudged up the hill and set about setting up his tent. Ellie didn't have a tent to pitch, so she sat halfway up the hill, picking at the flowers and watching Cooper, who was playfully running circles around Daryl.

After an hour or so of setting up, Shane and Rick came over with Hershel and a large map.

"How long has the girl been lost?" Hershel asked the men.

"This'll be day three." Rick informed him, looking at the direction of Carol who was sat listening a little way away.

"This is a map of the local area. It shows terrain and elevations." Hershel showed them the map in his hands. Daryl came down the hill and peered over the map.

"This is great, we can finally get this thing organized." He said. "We'll grid the area."

"And start searching in teams." Rick finished, nodding.

Hershel gave him a disapproving look. "Not you," He told Rick. "Not today. You've given three units of blood. You'll go five minutes before passing out. And your ankle." He directed at Shane, shaking his head.

"Guess it's just me then." Daryl said, looking at the map closely. "I'm going to head back to the creek, work my way from there."

Ellie frowned, before standing up and coming down to meet them. "And me. I'm helping too."

Hershel and Shane looked at her and shook their heads. "No job for a lady." Hershel said quietly.

"It's a good job that I don't act like a lady then, isn't it." Ellie laughed, smiling at Hershel. "I'm going."

"That's your choice Ellie, just please be careful and stick with Daryl if you do." Rick said, looking from Ellie to Daryl.

Daryl sighed and nodded his head, picking up the map and taking it up the hill to his tent. "Going to mark out my route and head out." He called to the group.

Ellie turned to where Daryl was and climbed up the hill to stand with him. "You don't sound thrilled about the company on this rescue mission. Should I be offended?" Ellie teased, looking at Daryl.

"You'll slow me down."

"I'm fast. You don't know that." Ellie said, frowning at him.

"Look, you should just stay here, you'll be safer and that way I don't need to worry about protecting your ass as well as my own." Daryl muttered, almost inaudible.

"Daryl, I don't need you to protect my ass, I am perfectly capable of doing that myself." Ellie voiced, looking at the red neck in confusion. "And two pairs of eyes are better than one, right?" Why was he being such an ass to her now, when they had got along perfectly fine before?

"Fine, come if you want. Don't slow me down." He grumbled, grabbing his bag from the floor and stuffing it onto his back. He picked up his crossbow and slung it over his shoulder. "Come on then."

…

They had been tracing a path through the woods for a few hours now, and had only made an occasional comment to each other. They had come across a handful of walkers on their way but Ellie had yet to raise her knife, as Daryl had hit each one in the head with an arrow before she could get close. She would always nod a thank you to him, but it was starting to annoy her that he wasn't talking to her.

"Have I done something wrong?" she asked him, her eyes sweeping the area for any signs of Sophia.

"No." Daryl stated. Ellie sensed that he wasn't in a chatty mood.

"Ok." She let it drop for a few minutes before saying, "Then why are you being so moody?"

"Ain't being moody." Daryl said abruptly. "Drop it, will ya,"

Ellie looked up at him and sighed. She carried one walking next to him in silence. Around the next cluster of trees, a house came in to view. An old, wooden farm house. They looked at each other before Daryl motioned for Ellie to move into a crouch. She beckoned Cooper to sit down, and moved to the side of the door. Daryl held his cross bow out ready and gave two loud thumps of the wooden door. They waited silently. Ellie could feel her heart pounding in her chest for both the fear of more walkers and the anticipation of finding Sophia here. When there was no movement from inside, Daryl glanced at her and nodded his head, and then reached out and turned the door handle. It was unlocked. He pushed it open and took a cautious step inside.

The inside of the house was neat and tidy, and it would be easy to guess that someone was still living here, if it wasn't for the gathering dust onto of the white cabinets in the hall way. Daryl motioned for Ellie to follow him and together they made their way further into the house, checking each of the downstairs rooms. Nothing.

"I'll check upstairs. You check the cupboards. There could be some useful things here." He instructed. Ellie nodded and moved into the kitchen.

She opened the nearest cupboard, and saw several tins. Beans, sweetcorn, stews and custard. The next contained several packets of rice, pasta and biscuits. A third cupboard held plates and cups. She reached for a plastic bag on the side and scooped the contents of the first two cupboards into the bag. She opened up one of the draws and grabbed some of the cutlery from it, including two sharp butchers knifes, stuffing it all into the bag. Another draw contained wires and tools. Ellie spotted some scissors, candles and a box of matches within the mess. She grabbed them and threw them in too. The smell coming from the fridge make her gag and she avoided that all together.

She was about to leave the room and call up to Daryl when a cabinet to her left caught her eye. She reached out and opened it, revealing a gun and three boxes of bullets. Her eyes went wide, and she threw down her bag and stuffed the gun and boxes inside. As she heaved the bag back up onto her back, Daryl came around the corner.

"There's a wardrobe upstairs that has had someone sleeping in it. There's a blanket and some wrappers. Whoever it was, they aren't there now." He told her.

"It could have been her. Maybe she got scared off?"

"It's possible. Found anything useful?" He asked, looking down at the plastic bag she was holding.

"Some food, candles, matches. Picked up some more cutlery and knifes too." She paused before adding, "And I found a gun."

"A gun? Good. Keep it on you, hidden. I heard the old man at the farm telling Rick that he didn't want anyone to have guns on his property. Stupid man." Daryl all but growled. "Don't he know the world he's living in?"

"Think he's in denial?" Ellie asked, picking at some of the paint on the wall.

"Maybe. Whatever his deal is, I don't trust him."

"Maybe we should double back now, after we scan the outdoor area? It's almost dark." Ellie said, looking towards the window of the kitchen. The sun was beginning to set.

"Yeah. Come on." Daryl agreed, and set off towards the door, whistling for Cooper to follow him. To Ellie's surprise the dog did. A small smile graced her lips.

Outside, Daryl was bent low, holding what looked like a small flower between his thumb and finger. Ellie walked closer to him and saw that he was smiling.

"What's that?"

It's a Cherokee rose." Daryl replied, turning to look at her. When a blank look crossed her face, her carried on, "there's a story about them. When the American soldiers were moving Indians off their land on a trail of tears, the Cherokee mothers were grieving and crying so much 'cos they were losing their little ones on the way from exposure, disease and starvation. Some of them just disappeared. The elders of them had a prayer. Asking for a sign to uplift the mothers spirits, to give them strength and hope. The legend is that the next day, the roses started to grow. Right where the mothers left their sad trails." He watched Ellie with careful eyes, "I'm not a fool to think this one is blooming for my brother… but maybe it's here for Carol's little girl."

Ellie's eyes were full of tears as Daryl finished his story. "That's beautiful Daryl."

"It's just a legend. It's silly really." He shrugged it off, looking embarrassed.

"No, you have to take it, tell Carol the story. She needs it." Ellie begged. Daryl nodded and put the flower carefully in the top of his bag.

"Let's get going." He said, and motions for her to follow him.

The rest of the walk back was quiet, but peaceful. Both Daryl and Ellie made small talk occasionally and Cooper enjoyed chasing the occasional small rodent. They only came across one walker, which Daryl took out instantly. They reached the farm a little after dark and went straight up to Rick, who was sat at the foot of his tent, and greeted them as soon as they were close.

"No luck?" Carol cried, stood in the door way of the RV. Daryl shook his head sadly and winced as Carol ran into the RV, sobs escaping her lips.

"Go." Ellie whispered to Daryl, motioning towards the RV. "Give her the rose. I'll fill Rick in with what we found out there."

Daryl nodded and headed towards the RV, disappearing inside. Ellie turned to face Rick.

"We found a farm house, a few hours walk away. Someone's slept there recently. Couldn't have been too big. It was a small space from what Daryl said. I think he is planning to head back that way tomorrow on horseback so we have more time to search in the day light." She noticed the look on his face. "Don't. Don't start giving up on this. We'll find her."

"I know. I know. It's just- nothing. I need a clear head for tomorrow. Dale has first watch tonight and then it's Glenn so you make sure that you get some rest in peace. Lori is with Carl at the moment so I can sleep. I'll see you in the morning." Rick said halfheartedly, disappearing into his tent.

Ellie sighed and made her way half way up the hill to the base of a large tree. She pulled out her sleeping bag from her rucksack and laid it down, putting Cooper's pillow next to it. She stretched out her muscles and arched her back, hearing several faint popping sounds as her bones clicked.

"Well Coop, time for some sleep." She announced to her Pup who had immediately led on his bed when it was led out. She was just about to get into her sleeping bag when Daryl walked up to her silently.

"What are you doing?" he asked quietly, causing her to jump about a foot in the air.

"Daryl! You scared me." She squealed, holding a hand over her heart. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, where's your tent?"

"I don't have one." She said, squinting at him through the darkness.

"You can't sleep out here. You can have mine." He offered, pointing to his tent.

Ellie shook her head. "We're fine, thank you though." She said, reaching down to pull back the top cover of her bed.

"Don't be stupid woman. Take the tent." He growled lightly, seemingly impatient.

"Daryl, I said-"Ellie began, but Daryl cut her off by bending low and grabbing her sleeping bag and rucksack from the floor. "Hey! Put that back!" She whisper yelled, making a swipe for her things and missing.

Daryl scoffed and began to walk up the hill to his tent. Ellie huffed and picked up Coopers now empty bed, for he had followed Daryl, and climbed up after them.

When she got to the top, he had already put her bed in the tent and was stood with his arms crossed, waiting for her. She puffed and glared at him.

"You can't just take my things." She grumbled, standing next to Cooper, who had sat down at the mouth of the tent. She was finding it easier to see now that they were out of the shadow of the trees. Daryl had a smirk on his face.

"Should listen to me then, shouldn't ya." He remarked.

Her glare deepened. "Daryl. I was perfectly happy where I was, thank you very much."

"Yeah, and perfectly out in the open. It's more dangerous than in a tent." He teased lightly.

"I thought you didn't want to go around _protecting my ass_?" Ellie shot back, exasperated.

Daryl rolled his eyes and motioned towards the tent. "After you."

Ellie sighed and gave up trying to argue. She climbed in through the door and was surprised at how big it felt inside. Cooper slipped in through the door after her and laid down on the pillow as she popped it on the floor by the foot of her sleeping bag. Daryl clambered in after and stuck to his side of the tent.

She looked over at him. "You're sure this is ok?" she asked.

"Yeah, now get some rest woman." He said, half a smile on his face. She was beginning to like that smile.

She took off her boots and jacket, and led herself down in her sleeping bag. Daryl had done the same after zipping up the tent. She glanced down at Cooper one last time, noting that he had already fallen asleep and then she shut her eyes, hoping that the sleep would lift some of the weight from her shoulders as the dread seeped in that she still hadn't told her new group about her little bump.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: The song used in this Chapter is forever young by Bob Dylan. It's a slow, beautiful song that I think, when sung in Ellie's voice to her baby, fits perfectly. Hope you are all enjoying so far. Please leave me a comment if you have anything you would like to share. I'd love to hear for you all

Chapter five.

Ellie woke up to the sound of Daryl swearing loudly. She groaned and shielded her eyes as she opened them, letting them adjust to the light. Removing her arm, she looked over and saw Daryl bent over her rucksack. Confusion formed on her face, and she quickly sat up.

"What are you doing with my bag?" she questioned, no accusation in her voice, just puzzlement.

He turned to face her, with a guilty look on his face. "Sorry for waking ya. I tried to move your bag to get to mine and all your shit fell out everywhere." He moved out the way to show her the mess and she laughed at the sight. She had forgot to zip it up fully and now the majority of her bag contents covered the floor. Daryl smiled slightly at the sound of her laugh.

"It's my fault, I should have zipped it." She said, getting out of her sleeping bag so that she could help clean it all up. They silently began to gather her things, and stuffed them back where they belonged. They were almost done when Ellie realized that Daryl hadn't handed her anything for a few seconds. She turned around to ask it they had got everything, when she saw what was in his hands.

"Daryl, I-." she didn't know what to say.

He looked from her to the little vest in his hands and back again, confusion on his face. His eyes slid down to her stomach, uncertain of its actual size under her baggy checked shirt. "Are you-?" He asked, stopping short of saying the words.

"Daryl… please don't say anything to the others. I'm not ready for them to know." Ellie cried, looking at him with worried eyes. "It's just-." She didn't know _what_ to say!

"You don't look pregnant." He observed, still eyeing her stomach.

"Yeah, I'm not that far gone…" she commented, and them, with a tentative hand, she lifted up the bottom of her shirt and bought it up just enough to show off her small, round bump. She held it there for a minute, and then dropped the shirt again. She was confused. What was the emotion that he held on his face right now?

"You let me take you out _there_ while you are pregnant?" he finally said stiffly, sounding slightly mad.

This time it was Ellie's turn to frown. "Just because I am pregnant, doesn't make me incapable of helping search for Sophia!" she cried, quietly. "Look, please don't treat me any different than before. It doesn't change anything."

"Except it does." He growled. "You can't come back out there today. I won't let you."

She looked at him with wide eyes. "Daryl please-."

He cut across her. "I won't tell the others, but you need to. Soon. This is something that we'll all have to consider when we make future decisions as a group!" he exclaimed in a low whisper. "Like who gets fed first and who has a bed."

"Don't be silly-."

"You can't take risks now El." He interrupted, causing Ellie to stop short again. Had he just called her El? They stayed silent for a few minutes.

"Daryl… I'm sorry I didn't say anything." She sighed. He looked at her for a minute longer and then looked away.

"It's fine. Let's go join the others so I can let Rick know that I'm heading out again." He opened up the tent door and left without looking back at her.

She sighed and turned to Cooper, who was sprawled out on her bed with a goofy face. "Hey Coops. Want some food?" she asked, stuffing the baby clothes into her bag and pulling out tin of dog meat instead. She scooped half of it out onto the floor outside and wrapped up the rest for later. Cooper happily dug into his breakfast and Ellie too this opportunity to change clothes.

This was something that she hadn't had a chance to do for a few days and it was starting to get to her. She made sure that the tent door was shut tight and stripped out of her clothes. She used one of the wipes from her bag to have a quick wash, and then got redressed in some black jeans, a plain black top and red and black checked top. She made a mental note to wash her other clothes later on today, and stuffed them down to the end of her bed. She put on her belt, which she had turned into a home made into a knife holster and was currently home to three knifes, and finally pulled on her jacket. After brushing her teeth and a quick hair brush, she ventured back out of the tent and together she and Cooper went down the hill to meet the others.

She walked into the clearing by the tents and took in the sights before her. Daryl, Rick and some others were talking over by the house, and Lori, Carl and Carol were sat by the RV. Dale was perched on top of the RV, on look out. She said good morning to the group by the RV and Lori offered her a granola bar from the box inside the van. She took it and thanked her, opening it and taking a small bite. Her stomach growled hungrily.

She wondered closer to where the men were talking and could hear them talking about the events for today.

"Nothing about what Daryl and Ellie found in the farmhouse screams Sophia to me. It could have been anyone hauled up in there." Shane said, with a grumpy expression plastered on his face. Daryl threw him a look.

"Anybody includes her, right? Whoever slept in there was no bigger than yay-high" he shot back, gesturing with his hands to his chest. Rick nodded.

"It's a good lead. Maybe we'll pick up her trail again." He agreed.

"No maybe about it. I'm gonna borrow a horse, head up to this ridge here, take a birds eye view of the whole grid." Daryl motioned to a spot on the map. "If she's up there, I'll spot her."

"Good idea." Rick comments with a curt nod. "You and Ellie can-."

"No." Daryl cut in. "I mean, Ellie's not feeling great so im going alone today. She'll just slow me down." He glanced back and made eye contact with Ellie who threw him a grumpy look.

They carried on their discussion but Ellie walked back to the others instead of listening to the rest. She was pissed off that Daryl had stopped her from helping.

"Hey Ellie, are you ok? You look a little pale." Carol said to Ellie as she walked over to join the group. Ellie grimaced and nodded.

"Aye, just a little dodgy." She supposed she should just go along with what Daryl said. "I've been banned from the search while I'm not feeling great."

Carol nodded with a small sad smile and went about her washing. Ellie watched as the group of searchers separated and then disappeared through the tree line.

…

She had found plenty to do to keep herself busy today. She had washed her clothes and cleaned the tent, helped prepare food, sewn up the holes in some of Daryl's clothes and offered her help in the main house, although Maggie had insisted that there was nothing for her to do and that she should just sit down and rest if she was feeling peaky.

As she began to walk back towards the camp, she stumbled upon Lori and Glenn having a heated discussion.

"Mind your own business Glenn!" Lori spat, glaring at him. Glenn didn't back down from the older woman's fiery gaze.

"You're pregnant?" He said in a hushed tone. Ellie's mouth fell open and her heart began to thud hard against her chest. She her hands fell to her own stomach and she was frozen on the spot.

"You can't tell anyone, ok?" Lori demanded in a whisper. Glenn's face fell.

"You haven't told him yet, have you?" he accused. Lori glared at him in answer and stalked away towards her tent, disappearing inside.

Glenn sighed and rubbed his head, turning to his left and locking eyes with Ellie's frozen form. They both looked at each other in silence for a full minute.

"She doesn't want anyone to know yet." He said, shrugging. Ellie nodded slowly and looked down at the floor. "I have to go and help Maggie at the house." Glenn turned and began towards the house.

Strange, Ellie thought. She had just come from there and Maggie definitely didn't need any help. She shook her head and carried on walking back to camp. After a few hours of cleaning the RV for Dale, Ellie heard Lori and Carol announced that they would cook dinner for everyone up in the house as a thank you, and they, along with Carl, made their way to the house. Andrea had perched herself on top of the RV again after having a quiet spat with Dale about her duties in camp. The groups that had been out searching had come back not long before, all except Daryl who was still out there. There was an uneasiness in the pit of Ellie's stomach.

"Walker, Walker!"

The sudden shout from above her made Ellie jump out of her skin. Rick, Glenn and Shane had ran down and were all shouting up at Andrea.

"Andrea, how many?" Ellie shouted up to her, fighting to be heard over the other panicked voices.

"Just the one, I think." Called her reply. "I bet I can nail it from here."

"Andrea, no!" Ellie shouted back, "Put the gun down!"

"You let us handle this!" Shane shouted at her as he grabbed his weapons and started off in the direction that Andrea pointed in.

"Shane, wait!" Rick cried. "Hershel wants to deal with walkers."

Shane shot him a dirty look. "What for, man? We got it covered."

"Andrea. Don't." Ellie warned seeing that Andrea had yet to put down the gun. Cooper had started barking in all the commotion and Ellie held out a hand to silence him.

"Back off Ellie." She snapped back.

The men had all ran off now, chasing Shane. Ellie strained her neck to see what was going on. She held her breath as she watched Andrea pull the trigger on the gun and grin down at her in triumph.

"I got it. I fucking got it!" she yelled, a happy smirk on her face. Ellie stood still, looking out into the field. Something was wrong. The men were trying to pick up the walker? And bring him to the house?

"Oh god, no. Andrea…" Ellie choked out as the figures came closer. Ellie's stomach churned as she realized that the person in the arms of Rick and Shane was a muddy, bloody Daryl.

"Oh my god!" Andrea cried out, hopping down from the van. "Is he dead?"

"Unconscious. You just grazed him." Rick shouted under the weight of the man he was carrying.

"Andrea! Why didn't you just listen to me?" Ellie shouted, moving to follow the men up the path and into the house. She didn't hear the woman's response. She didn't want to. "But look at him! What the hell happened?" She cried out to Rick, staring in horror at Daryl. Rick shrugged, looking concerned.

"He's wearing ears!" Shane whispered to Rick in disgust, motioning to the necklace around Daryl's neck.

Rick definitely looked worried now. "Let's keep that to ourselves." He ripped off the ear chain and shoved it into a nearby bush. As they climbed the steps of the house, T dog reached down to pick up something that had fell out of Daryl's pocket.

"Guys, isn't this Sophia's?" he said, showing the group a muddy doll. Everyone remained silent as they gave each other concerned looks, and continued to drag Daryl into the house.

…

After Hershel had tended to his wounds, he left Daryl in the care of Patricia and Ellie. Together, they silently washed his face and arms, and removed his torn and stained top. The clean and fresh bandages that were wrapped around his torso stood out harshly against his dirty tanned skin. After he was mostly clean, Patricia excused herself and left Ellie alone in the room. She had left Cooper with Carl, knowing that the young boy would enjoy the company of the playful pup.

Ellie sighed and took a seat in the chair next to Daryl's bed. The room was small and old fashioned, with purple drapes in the window and thick purple bedding on the bed. The furniture was a dark oak and it reminded Ellie of her Grandma's house. He heart ached at the thought. She turned instead to look at the man next to her. She hadn't realized how many tattoos Daryl had. His chest and arms were littered with designs, each complex and beautiful. His face was settled into a peaceful smile as he slept and he looked almost happy. She moved her gaze down to her stomach. Bringing up her hand, she cupped her belly, and smiled slightly. She was starting to come to terms that there was a real human growing inside her right now, but the idea of it still sent shivers down her spine. She absently began to trace patterns on her tummy as she started to sing softly, in almost a whisper.

 _May God bless and keep you always  
May your wishes all come true  
May you always do for others  
And let others do for you  
May you build a ladder to the stars  
And climb on every rung  
May you stay forever young  
Forever young, forever young  
May you stay forever young._

 _May you grow up to be righteous  
May you grow up to be true  
May you always know the truth  
And see the light surrounding you  
May you always be courageous  
Stand upright and be strong  
May you stay forever young  
Forever young, forever young  
May you stay forever young._

 _May your hands always be busy  
May your feet always be swift  
May you have a strong foundation  
When the winds of changes shift  
May your heart always be joyful  
and may your song always be sung  
May you stay forever young  
Forever young, forever young  
May you stay forever young._

She finished her song, and wiped the tears from her cheeks. She had been crying again without realising. She shook her head and turned back to Daryl, only to find him awake and looking at her. She felt a wave of embarrassment flood over her and she gave him a small smile. He lifted one side of his mouth up into the half smile that made her insides jump around.

"Hey." She whispered.

"Hey." His voiced cracked and he gave a cough.

"You're ok." Ellie stated, eyeing the bandages, and the bruises and scrapes that littered his body.

"I'm fine. Don't you worry about me." He paused before adding, "What are you doing here?"

Ellie frowned, remembering their argument earlier. "I can leave if you don't want-."

Daryl shook his head, stopping her from continuing. "That's not quite what I mean. I mean, ya shouldn't just be hanging around here for me. You've got better things to be doin'."

Ellie laughed lightly, relieved that he didn't want her to go. "Shut up Daryl." She shook her head in amusement at him as he pretended to frowned at her. "How long have you been awake?"

"Well, I hear the majority of your little karaoke session." He teased with a lopsided grin. Ellie groaned and held her head in her hands.

"Don't." she moaned.

"Oh c'mon El, you were good. Don't be embarrassed woman." He laughed, before wincing in pain and coughing.

"Stop laughing at me, you're hurting yourself!" Ellie whined, before adding, "On second thoughts, laugh harder."

"Now that's not very nice, is it?" Daryl chuckled. Ellie stuck out her tongue, and before Daryl could respond, there was a knock on the door.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter six.

Rick stuck his head around the door way, holding the map and Sophia's doll in his hands, and greeted them both with a small smile.

"Hey Daryl. Hope you're feeling better. Man, you looked pretty bad."

Daryl gave Rick a grim face and nodded his head. "I'm fine."

"We saw that you found Sophia's doll. Did you find-." Rick looked down at the floor, not wanting to continue his sentence.

"No, I didn't see the kid." Daryl said, letting out a barking cough and wincing. "I found the doll washed up on the creek bed right here." He informed them, pointing to a square on the map in Rick's hand. "She must have dropped it crossing there somewhere."

"Cuts the grid almost in half." Rick confirmed, nodding.

"Yeah you're welcome." Daryl eyed Rick's sad face with unease.

"Hershel noticed that the horse you took hasn't returned with you. Any idea what happened to it?" Rick muttered.

"Yeah, the one that almost killed me? If it's smart, it left the country." Daryl glared at the opposite wall.

"We call that one Nelly. As in nervous Nelly." Hershel said, walking into the room. "Could have told you that she'd throw you if you'd bothered to ask."

Daryl apologized to the old man for the horse and then turned back to Rick. "I'll head out again at first light."

"I hate to say it but we can't keep going out there, after this." Shane grumbled from the door way.

"Great, let's make it a fuckin' party in the room." Daryl mumbled under his breath. Ellie heard him and gave him a small smile before turning to the other men in the room.

"You'd quit now? Daryl just risked his life to bring back the first hard evidence we've had." She accused, looking at Shane with a frown.

"Don't expect you to understand darlin' but that's just one way to look at it." He threw a hand in Daryl's direction. "The way I see it, Daryl almost died today. For a doll."

"We get how you see it." Rick said quickly before Ellie could reply. He'd seen the frown on her face deepen.

"I'm not tryin' to be mean. Just realistic." Shane sighed, looking between Daryl and Rick. "You know I'm right." He gave Rick one last look before walking out of the door and back down the stairs. The room remained silent and everyone looked towards Rick.

"I need to go and talk to Lori. Oh, and dinner is ready." Rick announced quietly after a few second, nodding in the others direction and disappearing through the door, with Hershel in tow.

"He really pisses me off." Daryl growled, staring at the open door way. "Sayin' we should just quit. There is still a little girl out there after all."

Ellie nodded in agreement. "I'd never stop looking, if it were me." She sighed, looking down at her stomach. Daryl coughed and looked away from the door, as he grabbed the clothes on the end of the bed.

"I'll leave so you can get changed. I'll be downstairs." Ellie said before standing up and leaving the room.

She headed down, and walked into the kitchen. Everyone was busy with getting ready for the dinner that Lori and Carol had cooked. They had made an amazing spread. Ellie hadn't seen food like this in months, although it felt like years if she was being honest.

"This smells lovely." She said to Carol as she was ushered to the table. She was seated in between Glenn and Beth. Andrea was seated the other side of Beth, and had so far avoided Ellie's eyes.

Daryl appeared in the door way, now with a shirt on, and holding his side stiffly. His eyes searched the room before landing on Ellie. She gave him a small smile, and he nodded slightly in her direction. He walked over and sat in the chair opposite her, and next to Carol and Patricia.

"How are you feeling? Are you ok?" Ellie heard several people asking him as he sat down, to which he just shrugged and nodded in reply.

"Hey." She said to him quietly. "Smells good right?!"

He nodded in agreement, and they watched as the last few people sat down. Cooper led down in the corner of the doorway, watching the room with curiosity.

Once Hershel and his family said grace, everyone began dishing food onto their plates from the trays on the table. As Ellie filled her plate and poured herself some juice, she heard Carol turn to Daryl.

"I need you to know something." Carol said very quietly so that it didn't draw attention. "You did more for my little girl today than her own daddy ever did in his whole life."

Daryl looked uncomfortable at the compliment. "I didn't do anything Rick or Shane wouldn't have done." He brushed off. Ellie frowned at the mention of Shane's name. She was beginning to get annoyed with him.

"I know. You're every bit as good as them." She whispered, smiling at him. "Every bit."

Daryl gave a small smile in response and began to eat his food in silence, every now and then glancing up at Ellie.

The rest of the evening passed with good food and small talk. After a few hours, everyone began to head to bed. Rick and Glenn offered to take first watch, and T dog and Shane were to take over after a few hours.

Ellie beckoned for Cooper to follow her and began out of the door, heading towards the single tent and the top of the small hill.

"Aren't ya gonna wait for me?" Daryl's gravelly voice said from behind her. She turned to face him and frowned.

"You need to stay in a proper bed while you heal."

"Naw, ain't staying in here. Would rather be in my own bed." Daryl grunts, holding his side lightly and making his way past Ellie and across the lawn, knowing that she would try to stop him if he stayed where he was.

"Daryl!" Ellie shouts after him, but he ignores her and keeps walking. Cooper chases after him, leaving Ellie to trail along behind.

When she reaches the tent, Daryl was sat out on the floor, feeding Cooper the rest of the open tin of dog food.

"Dumb dog nearly cut himself trying to get into your bag for this." He said to her, looking up at her through strands of thick brown hair.

"Thanks." Ellie replied, smiling down at Cooper. "It's late, we should head to bed."

Daryl followed her into the tent and they sat themselves down on their beds. Cooper came through the door and Ellie reached up to zip it shut. Daryl looked up at her with an uncomfortable expression.

"What?"

"Will you be alright on the floor in your… condition?" He asked, with a frown. Ellie gave a small sigh.

"Daryl, stop. This is exactly why I haven't told anyone. Everyone will treat me differently but they don't need to. I'm just me. I can sleep on the floor, I can eat the same foods and I can sure as hell help to find this missing child."

Daryl stared at her for a few seconds before giving her a small nod and laying down on his back, folding his hands behind his head. "Ok."

Ellie was surprised that he hadn't argued back and went about sorting herself out for bed. After a few minutes of lying there in the silence, listening to the wind as it whipped the side of the tent, Daryl spoke again, so quietly that Ellie had to strain to hear him.

"You do need to tell them though."

Ellie sighed, "I know." Tomorrow. She'd tell them tomorrow.

…


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7.

"Hey." Ellie heard Andrea before she opened her eyes and saw her. She was crouched in the doorway of the tent, talking to Daryl. Ellie snapped her eyes shut again and kept still. She wanted to know what Andrea had to say for herself.

"Hey." Daryl mumbled. There was a rustling and Ellie assumed that Daryl was sitting up.

"This isn't that great but…" Andrea gave a sigh and it sounded like she had given something to Daryl.

"What, no pictures?" Daryl said after a few seconds. A book? He didn't sound too upset when he spoke, just in pain.

"I'm so sorry. I feel like shit." Andrea said in a rush. She sounded hoarse, like she hadn't slept well.

"Yeah, you and me both," Daryl joked quietly, as he moved around on the bed.

"I don't expect you to forgive me but if there is anything I can do, I-."

"You were trying to protect the group." Daryl said, cutting her off. "We're good. But hey, shoot me again, you best pray I'm dead"

"She's mad at me." Andrea said. Ellie assumed she meant her.

"She'll be fine. She just has a lot on her mind." Daryl said carefully. Andrea must have nodded because a few seconds later she left the tent.

Ellie turned over and looked at Daryl.

"You heard that?" Daryl asked glancing over at her.

"Yeah." Ellie yawned loudly and sat up. "You forgave her quickly."

"No need to not. Anyone could have done it. I looked like a walker from way back there I guess. Hell even I would have done it to protect my ass."

Ellie chuckled lightly and set about getting ready for the day. She threw on her boots and jacket and clambered out of the tent behind Daryl, followed by Cooper. Daryl looked like he was in pain, holding his side as he walked.

They reached the others and walked over to the group of men stood by the cars.

"The creek heads south." Ellie heard Rick say. "Past the farm house Daryl and Ellie found. Maybe Sophia dropped the doll there?" Ellie saw Shane shoot an exasperated look at Rick.

"What so you think she went north?" He questioned, rubbing his head. Ellie leaned on the hood of the car next to Rick and looked at the map, and Daryl hung back a little bit.

"Morning." Rick said. "Yeah… what's up that way?" he asked the young boy on his other side, Shawn.

"Housing development." Shawn replied, glancing at Ellie shyly. "It went in maybe ten years ago."

"We'll take a run up there after gun practice." Rick informed the group, but directed at Shane. "I'll hold down the fort here but take back up. After what went down with Daryl, I don't want anyone going out alone. We stay in pairs." Ellie glanced at Daryl behind her and he looked pissed off, still holding his side. "See how everyone does on the range and take your pick." He informs Shane when the latter questioned who he would have as a partner.

Glenn came up behind and offered everyone fruit from a basket, to which Ellie felt her mouth water and took two. She bit into the peach and moaned softly. "Thanks Glenn." She said.

He stood there for a moment awkwardly looking a Rick before meeting Ellie's eyes and frowning. She knew he was thinking about Lori and her news. Little did he know that Ellie had the exact same situation.

"The binoculars?" Shane questioned at Glenn, holding out his hand. Glenn blushed and pulled them over his head, handing them to the older man.

"Oh yeah." He picked up the fruit and rushed past them again. "Bye."

Rick frowned for a second, watching after the young man before shaking his head and looking back at the map.

After it was decided who was coming on the gun practice, everyone got into the cars and off to the place that Rick had chosen. After a heated discussion between Lori and Rick, Carl was to join them too. Ellie declined the invitation, much to Daryl's satisfaction. She knew how to use a gun.

Daryl went to the house to get his wounds checked by Hershel and Ellie began to walk back to the tent when she bumped into a panicked Glenn.

"What up?" she asked him. Dale had come into view from the corner of the RV and joined them. He asked Glenn the same thing.

Glenn turned to Dale. "You're old… I mean you know things." Glenn stuttered. "What if you were told something that somebody else should know…"

"Stop being dramatic." Ellie said in a whisper. "Is this about Lori?"

Glenn shook his head, eyes wide.

"Spit it out!" Dale instructed.

"There-… there's walkers in the barn." He said, eyeing the red building at the edge of the meadow with unease.

"What?" Ellie gasped, following his gaze.

"And Lori is pregnant." He finished, directing this part at Dale. Ellie's eyes widened.

Dale's face was frozen in a frown. He took another look at Glenn before heading towards the house.

"Where are you going?" Glenn called at the same time as Ellie.

"To talk to Hershel. Don't worry. Just carry on with what you were doing before." He sounded off.

Glenn turned to Ellie. "Don't be mad at me for not saying anything before." He said in a rush.

"No, don't be silly, I'm not mad." She said, deep in thought. The familiar feeling of anxiety was bubbling away in her stomach. "I'm going to lay down for a bit."

Ellie turned and began towards the tent at the top of the mound, Cooper bounded along in front of her. When she reached the tent, she threw it open and collapsed down onto the bed, taking deep breaths and putting her head between her legs. There were walkers in the barn… walkers! In the barn! What were this family thinking? Ellie felt extremely uncomfortable with the knowledge that there were monsters this close to where she slept. She held her stomach and felt a tear fall from her eyes, onto her lap. Damn hormones.

…

Ellie woke to the voices of people laughing from far in the distance and sat up. She hadn't realised that she had fallen asleep. The warm air was breezing through the flaps of the tent and as she looked around, Cooper was nowhere to be seen. She sat still for a minute, before making out the distinct noise of wood being scraped with a knife. Peering around the edge of the tent, she saw Daryl sat in the grass, Cooper at his feet, crafting what looked to be arrows from sticks. He looked up at her as she stepped out.

"Afternoon." He muttered, with a half grin.

"Is it?" she questioned, returning the smile slightly. "Shit, I didn't mean to sleep."

"Naw, you needed it. No one minds." It was as though he had read her mind. She didn't want people to think that she wasn't pulling her weight.

"I do." She murmured back, sitting next to him and pulling at the grass.

"What has the grass done to piss you off?" Daryl joked lightly. Ellie frowned.

"I'm not pissed off." She said in a rush. She could tell him about the barn… the walkers… the risk, but the look on Glenn's face earlier made her stop.

"Ok…" Daryl said slowly, eyeing her with unease.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Rick called them over for some food. On the way down, the passed by Glenn. He looked less tense now, more like he was a few days ago.

"I'm making a run into the nearby town. You guys need anything?" he asked, avoiding Ellie's eyes.

"Naw." Daryl replied, carrying on walking towards camp.

"Um… maybe…" she stopped. "No, actually I am fine, thank you. Be careful." She added and followed Daryl and Cooper quickly.

…

After dinner, tomato soup and rice, everyone began going about the farm doing their part to earn their keep. Daryl and Rick went to patrol the perimeter, talking quietly about how to make the farm more secure for our time here. Carl and Shawn had wandered to feed the chickens, and Carol and Dale set about washing up in the RV. Andrea had disappeared with Shane to check out the housing estate up north of the farm, and Ellie hoped they'd be back before dark.

The air was warm, much warmer than Ellie was comfortable with. There wasn't much in the way of a breeze, which was longed for. The distant sound of chirping and an occasional neigh made the place seem calm and homely. As Ellie's eyes wondered around, she saw that the blond girl, Beth and her father were tending the horses in the field, surrounded by knee length grass and flowers. The grains in the neighbouring field were waist high and looked fresh. The warm yellow tone stood out in the otherwise green background.

Ellie stretched her neck backwards, wiping the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve. She shrugged off the shirt she was wearing and tied it around her waist, leaving her shoulders almost bare in her vest top. At least she tanned, she thought.

She reached forward and grabbed a blue top from the pile of clothes stacked in between herself and Lori, and set about scrubbing it in the pan of water. The two woman had offered to do the washing today, and Ellie was beginning to regret that decision as she felt the ache in her lower back. Cooper was lazily chasing a bee as it bounced from flower to flower, and Ellie couldn't help but smile at the daft dog.

Movement caught her eye and she noticed two horses racing back into the farm, Glenn and Maggie on their backs. They dismounted a short way away and began to walk towards the two woman.

"They're back." She said quietly to Lori. The majority of the last hour had been in silence. It wasn't that Ellie didn't like her, she just didn't feel that they had much in common. Other than the fact of the growing babies in their stomachs that was.

Lori looked up as Ellie spoke and frowned at Glenn, who looked worried. Maggie had a glare on her face and was marching towards Lori, eyes locked on her.

Slamming the small metal gate behind her, she shouted at Lori in an angry growl. "Hey, we got your stuff!"

"Maggie hang on, please." Glenn panted as he tried to calm the raging woman down, shooting Lori a sorry look.

Lori looked around the camp with a panicked expression, eyeing Ellie before replying in a very calm and controlled tone. "Come on. In here." She pointed towards her tent.

"Why?" Maggie demanded. "Nothing to hide. Got your special delivery right here." She shoved her hand into a brown bag and threw a bottle onto the ground. "We got your lotions, your conditioner."

Ellie stood up as another bottle was thrown. "Maggie-." She began but the angry woman cut her off.

"We got your soap opera digest!" she glared at Lori.

"Maggie!" Lori whispered, looking at Maggie with wide eyes.

"Next time you want something, I suggest you get it your damn self. We are not your errand boys." She practically screamed at Lori.

Lori looked at her for a second before putting her hands up slightly. "Hunny, I-."

"No." Maggie spat, bending down to pick up a packet from the floor. "And here's your abortion pills." She gave Lori a look of disgust, before walking away, making sure to shove Glenn in the shoulder.

The young man stood there for a second, slightly in a daze before muttering a quiet sorry to Lori and taking off after Maggie. Lori froze as they left, holding the packet in her long thin fingers. She turned slowly on the spot to face Ellie.

"Ellie, I… please don't say anything to-."

"Lori." Ellie interrupted. "It's none of my business." She looked away from the woman and down at the ground. She couldn't understand Lori and her decision to end her baby's life but she was sure the woman had her own reasons.

"No, but the thing is I haven't told Rick. I don't want him to know. He has had so much on his mind and this isn't something that he needs to worry over. I just think that this is the best thing to do for us, and for this one." She indicated to her stomach.

Ellie glanced up and her and saw the pain in the woman's eyes. Did she want to do this? She shook her head and gave a sigh. "Look Lori, it isn't any of my business but don't you think that Rick should have a say too?"

Lori looked like she wanted to cry. "I… I don't know." She looked away from Ellie. "I have to go… check on Carl. Please don't say anything."

Ellie gave a small nod, even though the woman wasn't looking. She hadn't sounded like she had meant the last part as a question, more like a statement.

As Lori wondered off, Ellie grabbed the last two items of clothing and scrubbed them clean, hanging them up on the wire that had been strung across two trees to dry. She scanned the horizon, looking for something, not sure what exactly, until her eyes landed on Daryl and Rick stood next to the white fence on the edge of the wood.

Was Lori being fair keeping this from Rick? Well, you aren't exactly spreading around your news, Ellie thought to herself. Tonight. She'd tell them tonight.

…

Andrea and Shane returned to the camp just as it was beginning to turn into a late afternoon sun. Their arrival stirred the group out of their dazes and everyone gathered around to see if Sophia had been found. Andrea got out of the car first, and shook her head sadly at Carol, a pained look in her face. Shane got out after and avoided Carol all together.

"Anything?" Ellie asked, desperate for some good news.

Shane shook his head. "Not today."

"I'm so sorry." Andrea said quietly, looking between Ellie and Carol. "We'll cover more ground tomorrow."

Carol gave her a small nod before turning back to the RV. Ellie saw the poor woman's eyes brim with tears as she disappeared into the door.

"What happened out there?" Ellie asked, looking at Andrea's face. The woman had put on a mask of calm.

"Um, I…" she began.

"The place was over run." Shane continued, side eyeing Andrea.

"Yeah." She agreed quickly, a small smile on her lips.

"Let's go get you cleaned up." Dale said to her and guided her towards the RV.

Ellie watched them for a second before turning back to Shane.

"Over run, huh?" she questioned further.

"Yeah, that's what I said wasn't it." Shane snapped back.

"Yeah, it's just Andrea seemed-."

"Look here missy. I don't care what you think, you listen to me. I told you what happened so get up out of my ass." He whispered angrily to her, taking a step towards her. She glared at him and stood her ground.

"Back the fuck up." She said to him, still glaring. Cooper was by her side in an instant, growling low at the man. She stuck out her hand and touched the dogs head.

"Excuse me woman. Just who the fuck do you think you are?" he growled, before glancing behind her and straightening up, and walking around her towards camp and past Daryl.

"What was that about?" Daryl asked, walking to stand next to her. She looked up at him and frowned.

"I don't like him."

"I don't think anyone does." Daryl muttered back. "What did he say to ya?"

"Nothing important. Its more what he didn't say." She told him, watching Shane's back as he reached his tent and disappeared.

"Yeah? Need me to have a word?" he asked, looking down at her.

"No, it's ok. You don't need to go around protecting my ass remember?" she stuck out her tongue and beckoned Cooper to follow her as she set off up the hill.

"Real mature." Daryl chuckled behind her.

…

Ellie sat on the top of the hill with Cooper, watching two figures in field below. She made them out to be Lori and Rick. She hoped that they were talking about the baby and that Lori would change her mind. She picked at a daisy that was growing in the grass and led down on her back. It felt good to release some of the tension. She held the daisy up against the sky. It was beautiful, simple and beautiful. She smiled at the flower, laying it down on her stomach. She could see the protruding bump sticking out from between her hips from this angle. Her hands caressed her stomach and she closed her eyes, letting the heat from the sun spread across her. She was at peace like this. She wished she could stay like this forever, keeping her baby safe inside her, away from the horror of the outside world. If she had told herself last week that she would be here, with a group, on a farm, in content… she have laughed in her own face. Yet here she was. And she was happier than she had been in the last few months.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter eight.

Ellie found sleep didn't come to her easily last night, as she tossed and turned. Nightmares of dark shadows and dead hands had crept their way into her dreams and she had shaken awake, sweating and catching her breath. Luckily Daryl had been out on watch most of the night, sneaking into the tent in the early hours of the morning to catch some sleep. Ellie had pretended that she was asleep when he glanced in her direction on his entrance. She didn't feel like talking, still shaking from her nightmares.

Now though, the group were all sat around the campfire, eating the stew that Carol and Lori had made for them. It was good, and Ellie couldn't help but scoff it quickly, leaving a dull ache in her throat as it burned going down. Carol was busy by the fire pit, stirring what was left in the pot, and she had a slightly dazed expression on her face. Ellie wondered if Carol was beginning to lose hope of finding Sophia already.

It was hot again today. Not quite as sweltering as yesterday's heat, but the sun was high and blazing. The atmosphere in camp was odd, thought Ellie. There was a sense of tension between several members of the group.

Shane and Dale were avoiding each other like the plague, both moody and unsettled, and Andrea couldn't keep her eyes off Shane as she sharpened a stack of knifes. Ellie noticed that Lori and Rick were both distant, and yet wanting to be close beside each other. She wondered if Lori had spoken to Rick about their situation last night, when she had seen them in the field.

Between them, Carl looked happy as he wolfed down a second bowl of stew. Daryl sat opposite her, eyeing her occasionally with interest as she scanned the camp. She knew him well enough now to know that he would find it amusing that she was observing the group in such detail.

T dog bent low and sat down beside her, muttering a quiet hello as he began to eat. She hadn't spent much time talking to the man next to her, but from what she had seen and heard, she liked the man. He seemed gentle and quiet, and yet he looked like he wouldn't take shit from anyone.

Glenn was tense. More tense than Ellie had ever seen the poor boy. He was stood a small distance away from the camp, looking out towards the house, hands in his pockets and a concerned expression on his face. As she focused in, she saw what he was looking at. Maggie was stood on the porch of the house, her arms crossed. With a stern face, she was shaking her head slowly at Glenn.

Ellie looked up confused at him, and as he turned away from Maggie and towards her, she mouthed to him 'are you ok?' He shook his head quickly before walking towards the small circle of people.

"Um… Guys?" he began hesitantly. Faces started to look up at him. "So…"

Oh god, though Ellie. He is going to tell them about the barn. She wasn't sure that she was ready for this. A nod from Dale was all it took for Glenn to continue.

"…the barn is full of walkers." He said in a controlled, almost casual voice, as though he had been practicing.

Shock was probably the best work to describe the faces of the people in camp. Rick, Shane and T dog all stood up in an instant. Quickly followed by the rest. Questions started buzzing in the air as everyone began to talk at once. Panic spread on several faces and Lori grabbed Carl's hand tightly.

"How do you know this?" Shane questioned loudly.

"Walkers, are you sure?" Andrea's voice was high with shock.

"What do you mean full of walkers?" T dog sounded confused.

"Why didn't you tell us right away?" Lori.

"How sure are you?" Rick.

"Walkers?" Daryl.

"Glenn, answer us!" That was Shane again.

"Back off!" Ellie shouted, silencing the buzz of voices. Glenn looked half scared and half relived.

"Ellie, now isn't the time-." Shane began.

"No, I said back off. How do you expect any answers when everyone is forcing the questions down Glenn's throat? Geez." She snapped back. Glenn smiled at her in thanks.

"Ellie is right," Rick agreed. "We need to go and check it out, make sure that what Glenn said is correct."

"And then what Rick?" Shane demanded, spinning around to Rick and throwing his hands in the air.

"Then we talk to Hershel." Rick said calmly. Shane scoffed and ran his hands over his head.

"That old man has a screw lose, I'm telling ya." He shouted.

"That old man is our host, you ought to be nicer to him Shane or we'll all be out." Lori fired back before Rick could speak.

"Lori, I don't expect you to understand the situation that-." Shane began, but Lori's glare made him stop in his tracks.

"Look." Rick said, mostly to Shane. "Let's go and check it out and then we can go from there, ok?"

After a few seconds of silence, Shane calmed enough to give a nod. The group all followed after Rick as they made their way over to the barn. Ellie trailed along behind them, with Cooper at her heels, and as she walked she stared at the red barn in front.

What was going to happen now? She thought. Rick would surely wait for Hershel before doing anything. We can't risk pissing him off. If they had to go back on the road… she didn't want to think about it.

"Ya knew, didn't ya?" A husky voice said next to her, snapping her out of her daze. Daryl had joined her at the back of the line, and was walking at an angle so that he could graze his hand behind Cooper's ears.

"What?" Ellie asked, slightly shocked at the question. She hadn't told anyone that Glenn had told her.

"I said you knew. I can tell." He didn't seem too pissed, though Ellie.

"Well… yes. How did you know?" She questioned with a frown. He stared at her for a second before answering.

"Ya didn't react. When Glenn said about it, you had a blank face. Everyone else was shocked, hell scared even, except you… and maybe Dale."

"You're better at reading people that I thought." Ellie attempted at a smile to ease the tension.

Daryl nodded, "Yeah? Or ya'll just shitty actors. Why didn't ya say anything?"

Ellie felt a nudge in her stomach at the word he said. Why didn't she say anything? She didn't know. "I don't know." She answered honestly.

Daryl frowned at her slightly. "You know how much of a risk this is right? For everyone. You, and your baby." He whispered the last bit. Ellie's eyes went wide and she looked around quickly to make sure that no one had heard him.

"Please keep that to yourself! I haven't told them yet." She took a deep breath. "Yes I know how much of a risk it is. I'm shit scared Daryl! I don't know what stopped me telling everyone, I just couldn't do it. Glenn… he seemed like he needed to work something out with Maggie before telling anyone."

Daryl nodded, looking slightly annoyed as he took in what she said. "Ok. I get it, but ya'll need to tell everyone this shit quicker next time, and you need to tell them all about… you know." He eyed her growing stomach.

Ellie gulped at the words next time and nodded.

They had reached the barn now. The red paint was crusty and peeling along the wooden panes. The building was bigger that Ellie had first though. It was beautiful from across the meadow, far enough away that you couldn't see its mismatched sides and dirty door. Up close, it looked rather depressing. It seemed to be aching and old.

Everyone held their breath as Shane took a few steps towards the door, and peered through the gaps. In the silence, Ellie heard the sounds of the dead, muffled by the wood. Moaning, groaning. Shane jumped back slightly as one of the dead came towards the door, and swung around to glare at Rick.

"You cannot tell me that ya'll are ok with the Rick!?" he demanded, in a hushed but angry tone.

"No I am not, but we are guests here. It isn't our land." Rick said to the group.

"It's our fucking lives man!" Shane fired back.

A few people moved back slightly as the door creaked with pressure. Shane was drawing attention. Unwanted attention.

"Lower your voice!" Glenn and Ellie said at the same time, receiving a glare each from Shane in return.

"We can't just sweep this under the rug!" Andrea said in a whisper.

T dog nodded. "It aint right."

"Look here. We either gotta go in there and make things right," Shane began. "Or we have just gotta go. Now we have been talking about Fort Benning for a long time now."

"We can't go!" Rick cut across Shane, holding his hand out in frustration.

"Why Rick?!" Shane demanded.

"Cause my daughter is still out there." Carol said quietly, looking hard at Shane.

"Ok…" Shane held his hands up to his face and took a few deep breaths. Ellie glared at him, knowing what was coming next. "I think it's time that we all start to just consider the other possibilities-."

"Shane!" Rick shouted, cutting the man off.

"I was just-."

"We are not leaving Sophia behind!" Rick stated, daring the other man to argue.

Daryl looked angry. "I'm close to finding this girl. I just found her damn doll a few days ago." He growled at Shane.

Shane scoffed at Daryl. "You found a doll Daryl. That's all you did. You found a doll."

Daryl looked like he was ready to jump on Shane.

"Hey, back off Shane. That's more than you have done. The doll is a great lead!" Ellie shouted in a whisper, eyeing the moving doors of the barn.

"You don't know what the hell you're talking about!" Daryl agreed, advancing towards Shane.

Ellie grabbed the back of his top and tugged lightly. Cooper was low to the floor now, snarling at Shane, ready to pounce if he came any closer.

"Look I'm just saying what needs to be said here, you giving me-." Shane started before Rick cut his off again.

"Alright, alright." Rick stood between Daryl and Shane. Ellie could hear Daryl growling low before relaxing away from the man he was so ready to fight.

"Shane stop." Rick shouted at Shane this time as the latter continued to rant about leads and forty eight hours.

Shane didn't stop. "Lemme tell you something else man!" he directed this at Daryl. "If she was alive out there, she saw you comin' all methed out with your buck knife, geek ears around your neck… she'd run in the other direction man!"

Ellie heard Carol and Lori gasp behind her. Her fingers were ripped from Daryl's shirt as he lunged forward and swung at Shane. Rick caught him before he got there, and pushed him backwards.

"You want to shut the fuck up man!" Daryl was shaking with anger.

"Alright, wait, just stop." Rick attempted to reason. Shane stomped around in a small circle, with irritation etched upon his face.

"I need to say it how it is man!" he shouted at Rick, eyeing Daryl with anger.

"You need to fuck off!" Ellie shouted back, throwing him the finger and pulling Daryl back to his original spot. "What the fuck have you ever done for Sophia except telling everyone to just give up? You have no right!"

"You want to start Ellie, huh? You aren't even part of this group. We don't even fucking know you-." Shane began, advancing towards her, causing Cooper to snap at his feet in warning.

"Just stop!" Rick cried out, putting his hands to Shane's chest. Daryl tensed at Shane's words and looked ready to murder him if he came any closer. "Calm yourself down man. Ellie, call off your dog."

Ellie stared at Rick for a second before beckoning Cooper back. "Coop."

"You want to fucking watch that dog! Don't fucking come at me man, I'll beat your ass!" Shane snapped relentlessly at Ellie and then Daryl.

"You need to back down!" Glenn shouted, standing in front of Ellie.

"Fuck, you starting something too? I'll beat your ass boy!" Shane snarled. "What about the rest of ya'll. Come on then!" he started pushing again Rick to get to Glenn and Daryl, who still looked ready to kill. Lori moved to touch Shane's shoulder and he glared at her. "Keep your hands off me!"

Everyone moved in to help Rick. The commotion was stirring more attention from the walkers and the door was groaning in protest. The noise of a dozen shouting voices was too much, just a blur in the eyes and a buzz in the ears. Ellie moved backwards, dragging Daryl with her by the scruff of his shirt, and Cooper followed. Her breaths were shallow and quick. Too quick. Daryl seemed to notice and turned to face her, his back to the uproar. Her fingers lost their grip on his shirt and instead fell to the fence behind her as she steadied herself.

"Ya ok?" Daryl asked, looking worried and taking a few deep breaths himself.

Ellie nodded slowly, catching her breath. "Yeah." She brushed her dark curls out of her eyes and put a hand on her chest, feeling her racing heart before moving it down to her stomach instinctively. "Just got a bit anxious."

Daryl nodded slowly, observing her for a few second before looking satisfied that she was breathing better now. Behind him, the commotion had died down, and an angry Shane was stood on one side of Rick, while a pissed T dog and Glenn stood the other side.

Andrea was watching Ellie with an emotion that she couldn't quite put her finger on. Standing up slowly, she and Daryl took a few steps forward to stand next to Carol.

"Just let me talk to Hershel." Rick said, loudly but calmly. "Let me figure it out."

"Well, what are you gonna figure out?!" Shane screamed at Rick, but remained further away than before.

"If we are gonna stay, If we are gonna clear this barn out, I have to talk him into it." Rick said exasperated. "This is his land."

Dale frowned before moving closer to Rick. "Hershel sees those things in there as people. Sick people. His wife… his step son."

Rick looked shocked. "You knew?" he asked.

"Yes. Yesterday. I talked to Hershel." Dale said, unashamed.

"I knew too." Ellie said quietly. She wasn't going to have them use this against her later if she didn't tell them now. She had her own secrets to worry about. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything."

Rick span around and widened his eyes, staring at Ellie. Daryl shifted next to her, and she heard several people gasp.

Shane let out a series of curse words. "And you waited the night?"

"I thought we could survive one more night." Dale stated, drawing the attention back to him. "We did. I was waiting until this morning to say something but Glenn wanted to be the one."

"This is crazy man! If Hershel thinks those things are alive…?" Shane voice got louder and louder as he spoke.

There was a big bang on the barn door and everyone jumped backwards. The dust that had settled on the door fell to the ground and everyone was silent. The moans of the dead filled the air and a hand stuck its way out of a gap in the wall of the barn. A long, boney dead hand, with skin that was decaying and grey. Ellie wanted to puke. So she did.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter nine.

After agreeing, rather reluctantly for some, to wait for Rick to speak to Hershel, everyone dispersed and tried their hardest to go about their routines. T dog was on watch and Glenn had raced off to find Maggie, Ellie assumed.

Daryl stormed into the stables, followed by Carol and Ellie. He grabbed a saddle from a rack on the wall and began to lift it off, talking it to over by the horses.

"Daryl!" Ellie said quietly, not knowing where to go from there.

"You can't." Carol said softly, putting a hand on the man's shoulder.

"I'm fine." Daryl's voice was low and gravely. He winced at the weight of the saddle and shifted it slightly to the other side.

"Hershel said that you need to heal." She continued.

Ellie nodded. "You do Daryl. It's still painful for you."

He grunted in response and opened a door to one of the horses. "Yeah? I don't care."

"Well we do." Carol said, frowning slightly. "Rick's going out later anyway."

"He'll follow the trail." Ellie continued.

"Yeah well, I ain't gonna sit around and do nothin'." He grumbled, hooking a lead around the horses head. Cooper sniffed curiously at the edge of the stable, keeping his distance from the horses.

"No. You're going to go out there and get yourself hurt even worse." Carol sighed, crossing her arms and looking at him with a sad smile. "We don't know if we are going to find her Daryl. We don't."

Ellie was slightly shocked by the statement the older woman just made. We don't. But that doesn't mean we just give up. I would never stop, Ellie thought to herself. "Carol-." She began.

Daryl looked over his shoulder at the sad woman in disbelief.

"Please don't." she stuttered, her eyes brimming with tears.

Daryl dropped the horses lead and took a few steps towards Carol. "Why?"

"We can't lose you too." She said in a quiet voice, blinking rapidly.

Daryl looked confused and frowned slightly at her words. Silently he threw down the chain he was holding and walked through stable, away from the two woman. He grabbed the saddle from the rack and threw it onto the ground. A loud cry came from his lips as he doubled over in pain.

"Daryl!" Ellie cried out, rushing to his side.

"Are you alright?" Carol added, touching his shoulder.

"Just leave me be!" He shouted at the pair of them, swinging himself away from them. Embarrassment and frustration was clear in his face. He groaned and clutched his side as he walked away, cussing so softly that they couldn't make it out. Cooper looked at Ellie before following Daryl out of the stable and across the meadow.

Carol turned to Ellie. "I didn't mean to-."

"No, it wasn't you Carol." Ellie reassured her, gently squeezing her shoulder. "He's working through his frustration. He wants to be out there, helping. We all do."

Carol gave Ellie a small smile before tears began to leak down her cheeks. "Thank you Ellie, I don't know that we would have found anything without you and Daryl trying so hard. Word's cannot express how grateful I am."

Ellie felt a tug at her stomach and a tear formed in her eye. "Don't, it's nothing. It was all Daryl. I just wish we could have found her already."

"Me too." Carol said, her cheeks completely soaked now. Ellie gave her a sad smile before reaching out to the older woman and pulling her in for a hug, patting her back as she did so. Carols tall frame made it hard for Ellie to keep balance, and she toppled a little into Carol.

Carol pulled back suddenly with a small gasp. "Oh."

"Oh?" Ellie questioned, puzzled.

"You… You're…"

Ellie frowned in confusion. "I'm?"

"You're pregnant?" Carol whispered, eyes wide.

Ellie felt her heart drop, and her eyes widen too. "I- Um… I-."

"It's ok." Carol soothed.

"I just… how did you-?"

"Your stomach. When you fell into me, I felt your bump. It's unmistakable." Carol said calmly, looking ever so slightly amused at Ellie's reaction.

"Oh. Oh." It was all she could say at first and then she continued slowly. "Oh… You see, I was going to tell you all… I just couldn't find a time." She stuttered. "Oh Carol, I'm so selfish and sorry. I wasn't going to say anything until we found Sophia, I just didn't expect-."

"Ellie, calm down." Carol smiled softly. "It's all ok. Sweet heart, you need to take some deep breaths and listen to me. You do not put this on hold for me, or for anyone for that matter. Your baby is a blessing, a bit of light in all of this darkness."

"I don't think everyone will see it like that." Ellie said quietly. "I'm more of a burden than everyone knows. I am a risk to the group… to camp."

"Don't you be so silly? Rick is a good man. He will not let you leave with your baby. You are part of our group, our family. You and your baby are staying." Carol reasoned.

"I… Thank you. I need to tell everyone soon but I'm just not ready yet." Her voice was so small.

"I won't say anything hunny. You take your time." Carol patted her shoulder lightly, giving her a smile before setting off to the camp. Ellie smiled after her. It felt good to have someone else know. She shut up the door of the horse stall that Daryl had opened and set off down the trail to the tents, a little behind Carol.

As she was walking up the path by the house, she noticed Rick walking towards the door. Without thinking, her feet moved her in his direction, and she called out to him. He turned to her, looking wearily and tired.

"What's up?" He asked. "I'm on my way to talk to Hershel."

"I… Rick, there is something I need to tell you." Ellie's head hadn't quite caught up with her mouth yet. She didn't pause, through fear that she would back out. "I am pregnant. Around 13 weeks. I was meaning to tell you right from the get go but you were missing a child and I couldn't bring myself to talk about my unborn baby when Carol's baby is missing in the woods. I was scared that you'd make me leave and I know that was selfish but I'm ready now for whatever you decide, and-…."

Rick cut her off with a hand. "You're pregnant?" He asked again.

"Yeah… I'm sorry I didn't say sooner." She looked down at the floor. He shook his head slightly and smiled at her.

"That's great. I… Lori and I are expecting too. You aren't going anywhere El, you're part of us now." He reassured her softly.

"Rick, Thank you." She felt a tear escape her eye and fall down onto her cheek. "I honestly-."

"Stop. It's ok. Do you need anything?"

She shook her head.

"OK then. If you do, let me know. I have to go and talk to Hershel now but thank you for coming to me." He smiled at her lightly and made his way up the steps and disappeared through the door.

Ellie watched him go and took a deep breath. She had done it. She had told Rick that she was pregnant. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and stretched her neck, hearing a satisfying click. A load had released from her shoulders, and as she made her way to the tents, she let out a small smile.

…

Ellie reached the tent that she shared with Daryl and stooped to go inside. Daryl was sprawled out on his bed, Cooper resting next to him with his head on Daryl's stomach. Daryl was absent mindedly scratching Cooper's ears. They both looked up as Ellie entered, and watched as she sat down on her bed.

"You ok?" she asked Daryl hesitantly.

"Yeah. You?" he asked back. Ellie nodded, picking at the fraying sleeping bag. "Look, I'm sorry about before, at the stables. I just want to be out there helping. It sucks to be on my ass all damn day when that kid is out there."

"I know. It's ok. It's Carol you need to apologies to."

Daryl looked down sheepishly. "Aye, I know. I will."

"I told Rick." Ellie said quickly, avoiding his eyes. "About the baby."

"Yeah?" Daryl asked, surprised. "What did he say?"

"Nothing much. He was ok with it. Said I'm not going anywhere, and that I'm part of the group."

"Course ya aren't going anywhere." Daryl grunted, turning onto his side.

"I just thought that it would be too much of a burden." Ellie sighed. "I but I guess now that Lori is pregnant too-."

"What?" Daryl asked, surprised. "Lori is too?"

"Damn it, I wasn't supposed to say." She groaned. Daryl let out a small chuckle.

"Damn. Bet its Shane's."

"Shane's?" Ellie gasped. "Why… I mean how?"

"Rick didn't join our group until a long while after the outbreak. Shane knew the family before I think. He told Lori that Rick had died after being shot before the outbreak, from what I can gather. He wasn't dead, obviously. Didn't stop Shane screwing Lori every damn chance he got until Rick returned though. They think no one know, dumbasses."

"Oh my god. That's bad. Does Rick know?"

"No idea. Damned if he won't find out though. Everyone else knows."

"Poor Rick." Ellie sighed. "I hope it isn't Shane's baby. That would be awful."

Daryl grunted in response and reached in his bag for his water.

"Carol knows too. About me." Ellie said quietly.

"That's good. No secrets anymore then." He joked. She nodded with a small smile. Her hands ran over her tiny bump and she closed her eyes, letting her mind drift. She thought she remembered Daryl saying that he was going to talk to Carol but she couldn't bring herself to open her eyes and check.

…

Shouting. Lots of it. Ellie woke with a start and jumped up. Cooper had raced out of the tent and was barking at the commotion. She shook off the sleep and climbed out of the tent, watching as Shane made his way to the group of people gathered at the house, shouting his head off.

"Oh no." She said to no one, and began running towards Shane and the house, reaching them just as he was shoving a gun under Daryl's nose.

"What's all this?" Daryl asked, taking the gun from Shane's hand.

"Be with me man. Time to grow up." Shane shouted, giving a gun to the next person. "You got yours?" he asked Andrea.

"Yeah, where is Dale?" She asked quickly.

"On his way." Shane snapped. He threw T dog a gun too.

"Thought we couldn't carry?" T dog asked confused.

"Yeah, well we can, and we will." Shane stated.

"But Rick said-." Ellie began, declining the gun that Shane tried to give her.

"Do I look like I care what Rick said?" Shane cried, "Look it was one thing sitting around here picking daisies when we thought we were safe, but now we know it aint." He pointed to the barn.

"Shane-." Ellie tried again, just to be cut off.

"How about you man?" he asked Glenn, shoving him a gun. "You gonna protect yours?"

Glenn looked at Maggie before taking the gun.

"That's it." Shane nodded. "Can you shoot?" he asked Maggie.

"Can you stop?" Maggie demanded, glaring at the angry man in front of her. "You do this, you hand out these guns… my dad will make you leave tonight."

"We have to stay Shane!" Carl whined from the porch.

"What is this?" Lori asked, coming outside from in the house and looking around.

"We ain't going anywhere, ok?" Shane said to Carl. "Now look, Hershel he has just gotta understand."

"No. Shane this is stupid." Ellie argued, glaring at him.

"He's gonna have to." Shane ignored Ellie and carried on. "Now we need to find Sophia, am I right?" He kneeled down to Carl and held out a pistol. "Now I want you to take this. You take it Carl and you keep your mother safe."

"Shane!" Lori and Ellie yelled at the same time. He ignored them again.

"You do whatever it takes. You know how. Go on." He said to Carl, holding the gun out further. "Take the gun and do it."

"Stop." Lori demanded, standing in front of Carl, and pushing Shane away. "Rick said no guns. This is not your call. This is not your decision to make."

Shane shot daggers at Lori, and opened his mouth to talk.

"Oh shit." T dog exclaimed, looking out towards the barn. Ellie craned her neck to see what was going on. Rick, Shawn and Hershel had two walkers on poles by the necks and were walking them over to the barn.

"What the fuck…" Shane shouted, before getting up and running towards them. Everyone else froze for a minute before running over too.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Shane shouted as he ran alongside Rick.

"Shane, just back off." Rick cried, trying desperately to control the walker on the end of the stick.

"Why do your people have guns?" Hershel demanded from Rick's other side. Rick whipped his head towards the group and saw that the majority were carrying guns.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" Shane screamed, walking in front of Rick and his walker now. Ellie watched in horror as Rick struggled with the pole. "YOU SEE, YOU SEE WHAT THEY'RE HOLDING?"

"I see who I am holding onto." Hershel called back, looking weary and irritated.

"NAH MAN, YOU DON'T!"

"Shane, just let me do this and then we can talk." Rick pleaded. Ellie felt for him, but she was shocked that he was going along with Hershel's ridiculous behavior.

"WHAT DO YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT RICK?! HUH? THESE THINGS AINT SICK!" Shane screamed over the moans and growls of the walking dead. "THEY ARE NOT PEOPLE. THEY'RE DEAD. AIN'T GOTTA FEEL NOTHING FOR THEM CAUSE ALL THEY DO… THEY EAT. THESE THINGS RIGHT HERE. THEY ARE THE THINGS THAT KILLED AMY."

Andrea's face fell instantly.

"Don't" she whispered, looking away from Shane.

"THEY KILLED OTIS."

Hershel's family looked stunned at the scene around them.

"THEY ARE GONNA KILL ALL OF US UNLESS WE DO SOMETHING."

"Shane stop." Rick shouted.

"Stop!" Ellie cried at the same time.

"Hershel man, lemme ask you somethin'." Shane demanded, stepping in front of Hershel and his walker. "Can a living, breathing person walk away from this?"

BANG.

Shane shot the walker through the stomach, blood pouring everywhere. The woman walker didn't even falter. She just kept reaching out towards Shane, pulling on Hershel's pole.

"No!" Rick cried out, still struggling with his one.

BANG.

BANG.

BANG.

"Shane!" Ellie cried out, seeing the pain on Hershel's face.

"WHY IS IT STILL COMING? THREE ROUNDS IN THE CHEST… COULD SOMEONE LIVING JUST TAKE THAT? WHY IS IT STILL COMING HERSHEL?" Shane had begun shouting with a deafening bellow again.

BANG.

BANG.

"IT'S HEART, IT'S LUNGS. WHY IS IT STILL COMING?"

BANG.

BANG.

"SHANE, ENOUGH." This time it was Rick who shouted, silencing the gun shots.

"Yeah, you're right man. It is enough." He walked towards the walker.

BANG.

The walker fell to the floor the moment the bullet entered its head. Hershel fell to the ground, both in defeat and under the weight of the walker. His daughters ran to his side but he was too busy watching Shane with a disgusted look.

Ellie looked around. The majority of people held guns and were watching in shock as the scene played out before them. Daryl held his gun up high, trained on the walker that Rick was holding. Rick looked angry. Beyond angry. And Shane looked like a mad man.

"ENOUGH. ENOUGH RISKING OUR LIVES FOR A LITTLE GIRL WHO'S GONE."

Carol clutched her chest and gasped, and Ellie made a move to squeeze her shoulder in reassurance.

"ENOUGH. ENOUGH LIVING NEXT TO A BARN FULL OF THINGS THAT ARE TRYING TO EAT US. ENOUGH! RICK, IT AIN'T LIKE IT WAS BEFORE. NOW, IF YA'LL WANNA LIVE, IF YOU WANNA SURVIVE… YOU GOTTA FIGHT FOR IT. I'M TALKING ABOUT FIGHT. RIGHT HERE. RIGHT NOW." Shane gave a roar and ran towards the barn doors.

"Shane this is crazy!" Rick shouted.

"Shane no!" Ellie yelled.

"Hershel, take the stick! Hershel!" Rick begged but Hershel had blanked out.

Shane grabbed an axe that was leant again a pile of wood and began hacking at the chain on the door.

"Rick!" Several people shouted.

"Listen to me man, please. Take it now!" Rick screamed at Hershel. "Shane, do not do this brother! Shane!"

"Don't do it!" Glenn roared over the noise. Maggie looked terrified as she clung to her father.

"Rick!" Lori shouted, holding Carl tightly at the back of the group.

"Shane please!" Rick howled, still attempting to keep the walker on his pole away from the group. It was no use.

In a matter of seconds, the chain was broken. Ellie drew in a sharp breath as it snapped off.

"Behind me. Now." Daryl growled at her, dragging her behind him as he aimed his gun at the barn doors. She didn't dare move away.

With a crash, the doors groaned open and the first of the dead stumbled out of the barn.

"COME ON!" Shane taunted the dead, holding his gun out ready. T dog and Andrea rushed to the front and held their guns out too, looking to Rick quickly with a sorry face. Glenn shot Maggie a look and she only nodded once before he too had a gun out and was stood in a protective stance next to Maggie. Ellie clung to the back of Daryl's shirt as he held his gun out, ready and waiting.

And then it came. Shot after shot of blazing gun fire. Ellie pressed her head into the back of Daryl's top and tried to steady her breathing. Peeking out, she saw as each walker fell to the floor. She felt Daryl's shoulder each time the gun fired from his hands. She heard the cries of Hershel and his family as his wife and step son littered the floor. It was straight out of a horror film. The smell that filled the air was rotten and rancid. The moans and groans of the dead were quickly depleting as they stopped one by one.

Shane looked back once at Rick, glaring at him before shooting the walker Rick held down, freeing Rick of his burden. Rick sighed, and pulled out his own gun, lining up in front of his wife and child.

And then…

Silence.

Ellie moved out from behind Daryl, but still kept close.

"That it?" she whispered. He shrugged in response. Rick and Shane exchanged glances that held so much emotion that Ellie had to look away. The silence didn't last long. A small shuffling sound could be heard from within the barn. The darkness within made it hard to see anything, let alone the shadow of a small walker. As she came into view, Ellie's heart dropped. She had never met this girl before but she knew exactly who she was looking at. Sophia. The once beautiful little girl was now… a monster.

Ellie froze, before turning around and grabbing Carol, just as the older woman made to run towards her daughter.

"Oh, oh god, oh Sophia!" Carol cried. "Sophia. Sophia!"

"Carol no!" Ellie tried to hold the woman back but she was too strong. "Daryl help."

Daryl dropped his gun down and ran towards them, holding the woman in place and sinking down to the floor with her.

"Sophia. My Sophia. Baby." Carol sobbed, staring at the advancing walker.

No one knew quite what to do, including Shane. Rick stared at Carol for a second before muttering an apology, and standing forward, gun raised.

"Oh god, don't look." Ellie said to Carol, holding the crying woman to her chest.

"My Sophia." Carol whispered, almost inaudible, just as the gun shot rang through the air.

"I'm so sorry." Ellie whispered too, tears leaking out of her eyes. Looking over, she saw that Carl was clinging and crying into his mother's chest too. "I am so sorry."

Silence again, except the sobs coming from the broken woman curled up in Ellie and Daryl's chests.


	10. Chapter 10

_I hope you are all enjoying it so far. Please feel free to leave comments and suggestions for me_

Chapter ten.

Carol's sobs were deafening in the silence. Ellie held the crying woman tightly, shaking slightly at the shock of what had just happened. She glanced up at Daryl and saw that he had a tear in his eye while he looked at the ground where Sophia had fallen. Rick was frozen on the spot, hands shaking slightly.

"Don't look. Don't look." Daryl muttered quietly in Carol's ear, shifting slightly to block her view. Carol moaned loudly and pushed away from him, climbing away from Ellie too. Cooper whined softly as he moved out of the way.

"No!" she cried out, stumbling as she stepped away. She looked at Daryl and Ellie with blurred eyes before half running in the other direction, away from the barn.

"Carol!" Ellie called out, making a move to follow her. Daryl grabbed her arm as she stood up and shook his head.

"She needs time El. We'll check on her in a few." He whispered in her ear. She looked up at his sad eyes and felt herself nodding before she could think.

Now that Carol had disappeared, Ellie could hear more sobs. Beth, Maggie and Carl, crying for their loved ones that now were sprawled across the floor. Hershel's hands were covering his mouth and he looked devastated, a broken man. Around her, Ellie could see each shocked face in turn.

Beth let go of Shawn and ran over to the walkers on the floor by the barn. Rick made a move to stop her but she pushed him away. "Mom." She whimpered.

Ellie saw it happening before it actually did. She ran forward just as the walker let out a growl and clawed its hands around Beth's hair, dragging her down to its snapping teeth. "Beth!" She cried as she reached the girl. Cooper bounded to her side, snarling at the monster with his teeth bared.

Rick had reached her too, and was trying to pull her away but the walkers grasp was too strong. Glenn desperately tried to loosen the hands that were locked in Beth's locks.

"No!" Ellie yelled, pulling out her knife and kneeling next to the dead woman. She gripped the handle of the blade and drove it into its head. It stopped instantly and the rotten hands of the once beautiful woman fell to the floor. Ellie let out a breath and looked up at Rick who nodded a thanks. He hauled Beth up onto her feet and they both backed away. Daryl ran over to Ellie and hooked his arm around her waist, pulling her up to his chest.

"Are you ok?" he asked, scanning her wrists and arms. She nodded, staying close to him as the both walked backwards a few steps. Ellie watched as Hershel ran forward and bought his daughter in to a hug, holding her tightly, and walking her off towards the house with no words.

"Rick-." Lori began, but stopped as Rick shook his head and wiped his brow. He walked around in a small circle, studying the scene before him in silence.

"I can't believe it." Andrea said, staring at Sophia.

"Neither can I." Shane growled before marching towards the Green's as they walked away to the house.

"Shane, don't." Ellie growled low, but he ignored her.

"We've been out here, searching these woods for days for that little girl." He barks at Hershel. "She was in there all along."

"Shane, now is not the time." Rick glared as everyone jogged to catch up with them. Ellie beckoned Cooper to follow her as she joined them, sticking close to Daryl instinctively.

"You knew." Shane accused.

Maggie span around. "Leave us alone." She shouted, holding tightly to her father.

"You knew and you kept it from us!" He carried on, ignoring the brunette.

Hershel looked exasperate. "I didn't know."

"That's bullshit right there." Shane spat. "Ya'll knew."

"We didn't know." Maggie tried again to get Shane away from them.

"Maybe they didn't Shane. Just stop." Ellie interjected.

"Didn't know?" Shane growled at Ellie. "Dumb woman, course they knew. It's their barn!"

Daryl glared at Shane and took a step forward. "Don't."

Ellie felt a flutter in her stomach at the stance Daryl was taking for her. She chose to stay silent and scowled at Shane instead.

"Why was she there?" he demanded at Hershel once again. Rick made a move to stop him but Hershel held his hand up as he reached his door.

"Otis put those people in that barn." Shane made an exasperated noise as Hershel said the word people. "Maybe he found her and put her in there before he… before he was killed."

"You expect me to believe that crap? What do I look like, an idiot?" Shane took a step forward. Rick and Daryl both stuck out a hand to stop him going any further.

"I don't care what you believe." Hershel frowned, standing his ground.

"I believe you." Ellie said, nodding towards Hershel. "Now is not the time Shane. They have just lost the people they love."

"Just lost?" Shane scoffed. "Those 'sick' people, your wife and step son… they were dead a long ass time ago old man. All they have been doing while you had 'em locked up is rotting, decaying. You need to wake the fuck up and realise that this isn't the same world that it was before."

Ellie gasped at his vile words. Hershel looked beyond mad.

"Everybody just calm down." Rick yelled, stepping inbetween them both.

"Get off my land." Hershel said, staring straight at Shane.

"No, please." Rick tried to defuse the situation desperately. Shane pushed his hand away and took another step towards the Green's house.

"Hey!" Maggie cried out, shoving Shane hard in the shoulders. "Stay away from my dad."

Shane grimaced and carried on pushing.

"Don't you touch him." Maggie yelled again, bringing he hand down to slap Shane in the face. Ellie froze at the sound of skin hitting skin. Cooper barked loudly twice at the commotion before she settled a hand on his soft head to calm him.

Shane was breathing heavily and his shoulders heaved up and down as he backed away, staring at Maggie. Glenn had ran forward and was now stood in front of Maggie, protective and ready. Daryl had shifted so that his shoulder covered most of Ellie's view of Shane.

"Haven't you done enough?" Maggie spat. She turned on the spot and walked through her door, with her family following close behind.

Hershel paused before he entered, turning to Rick and the group. "I mean it. Off my land."

Ellie reached out and grasped the end of Daryl's shirt, holding onto it and watching the remaining group with unease. Glenn glared at Shane and stormed off towards the tents. Ellie felt bad for him. Leaving would mean leaving Maggie, who she knew that he felt strongly for.

Rick licked his top lip before stepping towards Shane. "What are you doing?"

Shane rubbed his head before answering. "Daryl almost died looking for her Rick. Any one of us could have." His voice was grumbly and low. "Lemme tell you right now, that son of a bitch, he knew."

"He didn't." Ellie and Rick said at the same time.

"He's not like that." Rick continued.

"He opened up his home to us." Dale said quietly, coming closer to the others.

"He put us all in danger man. He kept a barn full of walkers." Shane remarked, shaking his head lightly.

"So you just hand out guns and start a riot." Rick demanded. "We don't do it like that."

"His family is dead Rick."

"Well he doesn't know that, he thought they were sick." Ellie said, cutting Shane off.

"He thinks you just murdered them." Rick added.

Ellie noticed that most of the group had stayed silent during this outburst and it annoyed her. Surly they should be standing up for what they think too.

"I don't care what he thinks. Why would I?" Shane scoffed.

"Look I was handling it." Rick said, talking over Shane's mumbling.

"YOU HAD US OUT IN THOSE WOODS, LOOKING FOR A LITTLE GIRL THAT EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US KNEW WAS DEAD." Shane shouted, jabbing his finger at the tree line.

"Don't ya bring us into this." Daryl growled. "I thought she was alive."

Ellie noticed T dog and Dale nod in agreement with him, but Andrea remained still, watching Shane with carful eyes.

Shane huffed and rolled his eyes at Daryl. He stared hard at Rick before tutting and walking away. Ellie watched as he kicked hard at a rock on the gravely path and curse loudly.

"What a dick." She said loudly, hoping that he would hear her. She heard Daryl chuckle lightly next to her. She realized that she was still holding onto him and blushed, dropping her hand down to her side. He gave her a small half smile and looked up at Rick.

"What's next?" he asked.

Rick sighed hard and rubbed his closed eyes with the heels of his hands. "I need time to think." He let out a long breath and began walking towards the camp. Everyone watched him for a second before following along behind him.

…

As Ellie reached the tent, she felt the events of the last hour weigh her down. She dropped to the floor just outside the tent and curled her knees up to her chest. Daryl reached her a second later and silently sat down next to her, tossing his crossbow and gun to the floor a little way behind him. He beckoned Cooper over to his lap and patted him lightly as the dog sprawled out before them.

"You ok?" he asked quietly after a few minutes of silence. Ellie felt a tear roll down her cheek and sighed.

"I just feel for Carol. She lost her little girl. Truly lost her."

Daryl looked at her with sad eyes and nodded. "I know."

She felt another tear fall and she closed her eyes. It was all too close to home. She couldn't imagine losing her baby, and she hadn't even met it yet. Poor Carol. Her eyes flashed open as she felt a soft, yet rough thumb on her cheek. Daryl had reached out and wiped away the tears that ran down her face. She stared at him with wide eyes as he coughed and removed his thumb, looking embarrassed.

"Sorry." He muttered, looking down at Cooper. He reached out and rubbed the dog's belly.

"Don't be." She whispered back. "Thank you."

Daryl's cheeks remained red as he gave her a small half smile.

"Are you ok?" she asked him after another few minutes had passed in silence.

"Course." He murmured, looking away from her.

"You were out there the most out of everyone. You had the most hope that we would find her." She continued, shifting so that she was shoulder to shoulder with him. She put her hand lightly on his arm. "You are allowed to be upset Daryl."

"I know. I'm fine." He sighed, avoiding her eyes and looking off into the woods.

"Ok." Ellie said quietly. She wasn't going to keep pushing him to talk about it if he didn't want to. She rubbed her face with her hands and gave a shiver.

The air had turned cooler now, the wind had picked up and was blowing her short curls around to whip her face. She noticed that it shook the tree above them and a few leaves had floated down to the floor. Clouds had begun to creep in front of the sun, blocking its burning heat and making the sky look darker than before. Quite fitting, Ellie thought to herself.

After an half an hour or so, they had made their way down to the group.

"I'm going to clear the walkers from the barn." Andrea stated, shoving a knife into her waist band. "Has anyone got a blanket?"

"We'll come with you." Lori pointed at herself and Carl. "A blanket?" she asked, handing her one from the side.

"To cover Sophia. We need to bury her for Carol." Andrea explained, setting off towards the barn.

"I'll come too." Dale said, following the blonde.

"Me too. Glenn's gone to talk to Maggie." T dog said as they reached him. "I'm not sure how well that's going to go."

Ellie nodded. "Yeah, let's hope they work it out. We need this place."

"Yup." T dog agreed, standing up and following the group to the barn.

"We should check on Carol." Ellie said softly to Daryl, hooking her hand onto the back of his shirt. He nodded lightly and set off towards the RV with Ellie and Cooper in tow.

Carol as sat at the table inside, staring out of the window. She looked lost, lost in thought and lost in this world. Her cheeks were wet and shiny from the tears that had fallen, and her hand shook slightly as she held them on the table. She didn't look up as they entered, only blinked slightly and continued to star out of the window.

Daryl climbed in first, moving to stand next to Andrea's makeshift bed. Ellie put her hand up to Cooper, who laid down at the steps of the van and continued inside, standing next to Carol. Carol sighed and turned her head, looking up at Ellie and them Daryl.

"Please don't." she said quietly.

"Ok." Ellie said, nodding at the woman. She moved to sit next to her and put her head on Carol's shoulder, watching as Daryl took a seat opposite. The three of them stayed silent, all watching the tree line out of the window of the van. No one spoke but it was comfortable and felt right. Ellie gently rubbed Carols back for comfort as a few stray tears rolled down the grey hair woman's face.

After a while, Lori appeared in the doorway. They all looked up at her as she climbed inside.

"Hey." She said quietly. "We're ready."

Carol's lips trembled and she shook her head slightly.

"Come on." Lori insisted.

"Why?" Carol asked simply.

"Because that's your little girl." Daryl said, his voice soft.

"You need to." Ellie added, gently touching her shoulder.

"That… that's not my little girl." Carol muttered, so quietly that Ellie had to strain to hear her. "That's some other-… thing. My Sophia was alone in the woods. All this time I thought-."

Ellie's heart ached for her.

"She didn't cry herself to sleep." Carol sniffed, continuing. "She didn't go hungry. She didn't try to find her way back. Sophia died a long time ago."

Lori nodded silently, and turned around, walking away from the RV. Daryl was frowning hard at Carol, a strange mix of sadness and frustration in his eyes. He ground his teeth and jumped up from his seat, grabbing his gun and walking out of the van, following Lori. Ellie stared after him.

"Please go." Carol said quietly. Ellie jumped and turned to her.

"I don't think that you should be alone right now." She told her, shaking her head.

"Please. I appreciate that you care but I'm not stupid, I just want to be on my own for a while." Carol insisted.

Ellie stared hard at Carol for a full minute before nodding and standing up.

"I'm here if you need me." She said, before climbing out of the RV and calling Cooper to follow her.

She made her way over to the edge of the trees, near the barn where the group were all gathered. It angered her somewhat that Shane was here. She moved to stand next to Daryl and gripped the edge of his shirt again. A nervous habit perhaps, she mused.

Several graves were filled in with freshly turned mud, and Ellie looked down at them sadly. A large stone was placed at the head of each one, and it was easy to see which belonged to a child, smaller than the others.

Silence. The whole world was silent as the group stood around the graves, each mourning the loss in their own way. Ellie felt Daryl reach around and settled his arm around her waist, almost unnoticeably. She smiled up at him softly as she realized that he needed comfort more than he was letting on.

One by one, the group dispersed and walked their separate ways until only Daryl and Ellie remained.

"I'm sorry." Daryl muttered softly at the grave after a few minutes, hanging his head low. He tugged on Ellie's waist and they too walked away from the sad sight.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter eleven.

 _Hershel was gone._ Ellie watched from the hill by her tent as Rick and Glenn drove down the road to go and find him. She felt a strange ache in her gut as she watched them go, as if something was off when Rick wasn't around camp. She hoped that they would come back safely.

 _Beth was in shock_. Ellie had seen Lori and Maggie talking frantically a little while earlier and she asked what had happened. The poor girl. Ellie couldn't imagine being sixteen and in this shitty world, and just having to watch your family get gunned down in front of you.

It felt like this day had been going on for years. She was exhausted, her feet aches and her heart burned. She wondered down to the house and sat on the steps of the porch. She picked at some of the weeds that were winding their way through the flowers. Cooper bounded along the porch, happily winding his way around the table and chair.

The window next to Ellie was open and she heard voices through it, slightly muffled.

"We need Hershel. What the hell are we meant to do?" Andrea said.

Footsteps, and then, "Would you look in on Carl for me?" Lori had asked Andrea.

"Yeah."

More footsteps and the front door was opened. Lori appeared and looked down at Ellie.

"How's Beth?" Ellie asked.

"Not good. Do you know where Daryl is?" Lori asked in a rush.

Ellie frowned. "Sure, over by those trees." She knew he had gone over there to cup some wood for some arrows and figured he needed a minute alone.

Lori thanked her and ran over to him. Ellie stared after her but decided again following her. After a few minutes, Lori came storming back past her with a face like thunder.

"You know, I thought he was better than that!" She cried, shoving a finger in his direction.

Ellie stood up and cocked her head in confusion. "What happened?"

"He's selfish, that's what happened. Won't help go and get Rick and Hershel."

"Well, does he even need to?" Ellie asked, annoyed with Lori at her words on Daryl. "Rick's a grown man, I'm sure he'll be fine."

Lori tutted. "You too, huh? Beth needs Hershel now." She insisted, tapping her foot.

"I'm sure they won't be long." She said, watching as Lori rolled her eyes.

"I'm taking a car and going after them. I'll be back soon." She began to walk towards the parked cars.

"Wait." Ellie sighed. "I'll come with you." Lori paused and looked back at her. "Cooper, stay." She told the dog, watching as he laid down on the porch and stared off towards the direction that Daryl was in.

"Ok, let's go." Lori urged. Ellie zipped up her jacket and followed Lori to the cars. Daryl wouldn't be happy that she was doing this but she hated sitting around, being useless.

…

Lori pulled out of the farm road without a word and hit the gas as she drove straight.

"You know how to get there?" Ellie asked after a few minutes, eyeing Lori with unease.

"Kind of. I have a map." Lori said, showing Ellie the contents of her pocket. They both looked down at the map and the gun, and Ellie nodded. Looking back up at the road Ellie felt a scream leave her lips.

"Lori!" she screamed, eyeing the walker that was stood in the middle of the road. They were going too fast to stop.

SMASH.

Lori hit the walker square on, and Ellie felt the impact as the body hit the car, smashing the windshield and thudding over the roof. Ellie gasped as she caught her breath and Lori's eyes were wide. The car was swerving as she broke, losing control of the wheel. Lori gave a small scream as the car rammed against the tree line and flipped onto its back. Ellie's head snapped back against the seat and she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder. The rush of wind flew through her hair as the windows smashed on impact. The seatbelt locked tight against her body as they flew upside down and dug into her stomach. A few stray objects hit her face as they fell off the dashboard and she felt a sharp stabbing pain as several blades of glass pierced her legs and arms.

The car continued to roll and landed on the driver's side, causing Ellie to hang uncomfortably against the seatbelt. She felt sick, dizzy and disorientated. Glancing to her left, she saw Lori had scratches covering her face from the glass and blood on her lips. Smoke from the car and dust from the road made her eyes water and her vision go blurry for a second before she felt her eyes droop and darkness overcame her.

…

"Ellie. Ellie."

When she opened her eyes it took her a second to remember what had happened. It was dark now, hadn't it been light? The lights on the car blinked on and off in the black. She groaned lightly and looked to her left. Lori's eyes were open and wide.

"Ellie." She said again in a weak voice.

Ellie tried to answer her but felt as though she would vomit if she did. She tried to move her head around but felt a sharp pain in her shoulder and on her head. A loud bang made her jump, and a hand hit the windscreen of the car.

"Ellie… walkers." Lori coughed, looking terrified.

Moans could be heard from outside, and Ellie took a few deep breaths. As the car lights blinked on again, she could see the bloody teeth of a dead man scratching against the glass. The cracking glass.

Ellie reached down and tried to click her belt. It took a few tries before it unclasped and she had to catch herself before she fell.

"Oh god." She groaned in pain as her shoulder gave a sharp twinge. She felt the piece of glass in her thigh wedge down deeper as she hit it against the dashboard. She gasped as the mouth of the walker broke through a small gap in the windscreen and was snapping a few inches away from her face.

"Can you undo yours?" she asked in a whisper, trying to keep her breathing steady.

As the walker pushed itself further into the car, the skin on its face peeled back, exposing blood and bone. Ellie whimpered and crouched down into the seat.

Lori reached down and clicked her clasp. She stuck up her hands and tried to pull herself up. After a few attempts, she pulled herself next to Ellie, and they looked at the snapping walker in front of them.

"Climb." Lori told Ellie, pulling herself further up the car, to the door. Ellie tried to but her shoulder gave way and she creamed in pain.

"Lori, the walker." She cried, holding her shoulder for support. She attempted to reach down to her waist and grab one of her knifes by it was too tight against her waist that she couldn't reach them. The walker's hand was now through the glass and it reached up and grabbed her hair, pulling her face first towards its teeth. She looked around frantically before setting her sights on a blade of glass that was sticking out of the window in front of her. She grasped it with her hand, biting her lip as it cut into her palms and fingers, bending it until it broke off. She didn't waste any time, and slammed the glass down into the walkers head. The moans fell silent instantly, and the dead eyes of the walker stared back at her.

"Did you get it?" Lori asked, reaching into the car to help her.

"Yeah." Ellie panted, dropping the glass and wiping her hand on her shirt. She grabbed Lori's hand and pulled herself up and out of the car. She tentatively stood on her feet and instantly felt herself wobble. She reached out and grabbed the car for support.

"You ok?" Lori asked, hand on her knees.

"I think so, you?" she replied.

"Yeah." Lori moaned and pulled a bit of glass from her leg.

Ellie looked down at her own and saw two small bits of glass sticking out of her thigh. She moved her hands up to her bump and felt around, making sure that no glass had hit her stomach. Thank god, she thought.

Wiping the blood from her lip, she glanced up at Lori.

"No!" she shouted, see the shadow approach Lori from behind. "Lori!"

Lori cried out and span around, shaking off the jacket that the walker had grasped.

"Here!" Ellie cried, shoving a knife into Lori's hand. Lori gripped the knife and threw it up into the dead's skull with a shriek. It fell to the ground with a thud, and both women stood panting.

Lori looked around in the darkness and signed loudly.

"We need to find our way back." Ellie whispered, scared and cold. She knew that people will freak when the see them.

"I know, let's head this way." Lori whimpered as she walked back the way they came. Ellie moved off on her leg hesitantly and hobbled along behind her.

…

They had been walking for some time before Ellie heard the distant sound of a car.

"Someone is coming." She whispered to Lori, pulling her to the side of the road. They crouched down, and waited for the car to pass. As it go closer, Lori gasped and straightened up, stepping out into the road.

"Lori!" Ellie hissed, eyes wide.

"It's Shane's car!" Lori exclaimed. The car slowed to a stop in front of her and sure enough Shane stepped out.

"Lori!" he called. "Are you ok?" He climbed out of the car and ran along to join her, holding her arm and eyeing her up and down.

"I'm fine." She muttered to him.

"You ain't fine Lori, I saw the car." He said, shining his torch on her. "Lemme look at you." He checked her over with a grim expression on his face. "What happened?"

"Looked down for a second. Walker stepped out in front of the car." She said simply.

"Next time you stay put." He demanded. "C'mon, I've got to get you back." He guided her towards the car.

"Ellie." Lori stopped in her tracks and looked behind her. "Come on."

Ellie came out of the shadows and walked behind them to the car. Shane looked at her too and gave her a curt nod. She opened the back door and climbed in silence, with a lot of pain. Once they were all in, Shane span the car around and began to drive them back to the farm.

…

As they arrived at the house, Ellie suddenly felt anxious and guilty. She should have told Daryl that she was leaving too. She could see the shadows of several people standing on the porch, and she got closer, she saw they were Maggie, Glenn, Andrea, Dale and Carl. Her heart sank as she searched for Daryl's face. Maybe he didn't care that she had gone, after all they weren't together or anything.

The car came to a stop and she opened the door and climbed out shakily. Andrea and Dale rushed to her side.

"Are you ok?" Dale said urgently, eyeing her bloody clothes and scratched face.

"What happened?" Andrea asked both her and Lori.

"Crashed the car." Ellie said quietly, feeling slightly dizzy. "Where's Daryl?"

"He's pacing the camp, going crazy." Dale said, glancing at the now running figure in the distance. "Looks like he's just clocked you."

"We had to stop him leaving to search for you." Andrea told her. "He was adamant that he would but with Rick, Glenn, Hershel and Shane all gone, we need people here for protection… Shane had already left and T dog managed to talk Daryl into waiting for a little while to see if Shane could see ya'll. He was pissed, that's for sure."

Ellie felt her cheeks heat up.

"You've got yourself quite the protector." Dale chuckled lightly. Ellie groaned half from pain and half from embarrassment.

Daryl reached them a second later, rushing forwards and scanning Ellie's small frame with worried eyes.

"What the hell happened? You look like shit." He barked, concern evident in his voice.

"Geez, thank you Daryl. Exactly how to make a girl feel special." She said sarcastically, happy to see his face.

He rolled his eyes at her. "You have glass sticking out of you, you're bruised and bloody. What the fuck happened? Why did you go?" he asked, or rather demanded.

"I-." she felt sick. Really sick. "We were in that car and-."

It all went black.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter twelve.

"Is she ok?"

Daryl's frantic voice sounded in her ears. She could feel two warm, hard arms under her legs and back, carrying her through the cold air.

"She's just fainted." Maggie's voice was clear in the commotion.

She groaned slightly and took in a deep breath. She smelt the familiar scent of Daryl's jacket and smiled.

"Will she be ok?" Daryl voiced again, in the deep gravely rumble that Ellie had grown to enjoy.

"I think it's just the shock. Lori, you and Daryl follow me." Maggie instructed.

She felt a shift and suddenly she was being rocked closer into Daryl's chest and walked up several steps. She opened her eyes enough to watch as the door way to the house came into view. They snapped shut again, weighed down with soreness. She was sore all over. With each step Daryl took, her shoulder would tense up and shoot pain through her side. She wanted to scream in pain and shout to be put down but when she tried to move her lips, no sound escaped. It was a halfhearted attempt if she was honest.

After a few minutes the hard arms under her were removed and replaced with soft, crisp sheets. She felt a hand on her head, pushing her curls out of her face and pressure on the bed next to her. Did someone sit down? There were hands on her legs now, tugging at the glass in her thigh, making her want to punch whoever was causing her this pain. A cold material was placed on her wounds, and she heard the sound of tape being ripped.

"Do you think she is ok? Is it just the cuts?" Daryl asked after what seemed like hours, with concern.

"I think she'll be fine. Her shoulder is worrying though. I think she has dislocated it." Maggie said from somewhere near her face. She felt a pressure on her shoulder and tried to yelp in pain.

"I think you're hurtin' her." Daryl said quickly.

"I need to push it back in so that it heals." Maggie explained, pulling Ellie's arm out and up in a fluid motion. Ellie tried to protest but she couldn't make her lips work. "Hold her steady for me."

First there where hands on her good shoulder and her waist, and then she felt the pressure on her bad shoulder building into pain, more and more, until she thought her arm was going to break off. She felt the grinding of bone as the noise sounded, and her shoulder was instantly spread with relief. It was achy and sore but it wasn't throbbing anymore.

"That work?" Daryl asked, his hand still on Ellie's good shoulder but removed from her waist.

"Yeah, it's in place now. Just have to wrap up her cuts and she'll be okay. She has a cut on her head but I can't feel a lump anywhere so I don't think she hit it too hard." Maggie observed.

"And her stomach is okay? Nothin' cut into it?" Daryl fretted.

"Her stomach? No, it's fine. Why?"

Oh shit. He was going to tell her.

"She's pregnant. Rick knows but not many others do." Daryl said in a hushed tone. She heard Maggie's intake of breath.

"Well, all I can say is that your group sure does have their hands full." She sighed, her hands wrapping something around Ellie's legs. "She is keeping it right?" Her voice was full of accusation.

"Course." Daryl muttered, bringing a hand down to touch her stomach. It felt strange, and she felt a flutter in her stomach at his touch.

"Can I ask you something?" Maggie said quietly. She assumed Daryl nodded because Maggie continued. "You like her?"

Silence. Did he nod? Did he shake his head? Ellie held a breath.

"Yeah." Daryl grunted, almost inaudible.

Maggie gave a small chuckle. "Then don't mess up."

"I don't plan to." Daryl murmured.

Ellie couldn't process what she had just heard. Daryl liked her? Did he see her as a friend or potentially something more? She mauled the conversation over in her head as she fought against sleep. She didn't last long, and after a minute or so, her consciousness slipped away.

…

She opened her eyes with a snap. After taking a second to slow her breathing, she took in her surroundings. She was in the room that Daryl had been in a few days before, laying in the same bed. It was starting to get a little lighter outside, and there was a loud noise coming from her left. She turned her head slowly and smiled down at the sleepy face of Daryl, his head resting on her bed, snoring lightly.

Something moved on the end of the bed and she looked up to see Cooper's bright eyes staring at her, a daft grin on his face. She grinned at the dog and held out her hand, to which he shifted closer for a stroke.

"Hey Coops. It's good to see you boy." She smiled down at him. As she scratched his ears she tried hard to remember what had happened, and why she was here. Hadn't she been in a car with Lori? Hadn't they crashed? Yes, she remember this clearer now. The walkers, the glass, Shane coming to the 'rescue'. Had she fainted? Ellie suddenly felt very vulnerable and embarrassed.

There was a knock at the door that snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Um, come in." she called softly, her throat was a little scratchy.

Carol and Andrea came through the door, both looking tired and worn out. They both gave her a small smile, and Carol moved to perch on the stool near the foot of the bed, leaning over to rub Cooper's stomach. Andrea paused just inside the door.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" she asked.

"I'm fine. It was nothing really." She felt her cheeks go red with embarrassment. They both looked at her for a second, as if they were waiting for her to wince in pain or something.

"Maggie said you hurt your shoulder and had some cuts, but that you'd be ok." Carol said quietly. Ellie nodded.

"How's Lori?" She asked.

"She's fine, just a few cuts and bruises. She's just worried about the men. They aren't back yet." Andrea told her, moving to stand by the small window and looked out across the yard. "They should have been back a while ago, they only went to get Hershel."

"I'm sure they'll be back any second." Carol insisted, with a concerned look on her face.

"That's where we were heading. How's Beth?" Ellie asked quickly.

Carol and Andrea exchanged a glance.

"She'll be fine." Andrea maintained.

Ellie frowned for a second before watching Andrea look out of the window. "How long was I out?"

"Maybe two hours." Carol answered. "Not long."

"They haven't left your side." Andrea added, with a slight edge to her voice, nodding towards Daryl and Cooper. Ellie couldn't quite put her finger on the emotion that the woman was trying to hide.

Ellie looked down at Daryl's sleeping face and gave him a small smile.

"He was just worried about you." Carol said quietly. "Is everything ok with the-." She looked around quickly at Andrea mid-sentence.

Andrea looked between them both in confusion. Ellie sighed. "I think so." She answered Carol, before turning to Andrea and adding, "I guess everyone should know. I'm pregnant."

Andrea didn't look as surprised as the others had. "I know."

"You know?"

"Little things. I've seen you holding your stomach when you haven't realized you were doing it." She smirked lightly.

"Oh."

Daryl made a small grunting noise and shifted slightly against the bed, a frown on his sleeping face.

"We'd better leave now. We'll check in downstairs. Maggie said that when you're up for it, you should be good to get up and about. Your shoulder will probably be sore for a while though and you have to keep your cuts clean." Carol informed her, before heading out of the door. "Bye."

"See ya." Andrea said, leaving too, swinging the door behind her.

"Bye." Ellie called after them. She felt a pair of eyes on her and as she looked down, she saw Daryl watching her with sleepy eyes. "Morning."

"Mornin'." Daryl grumbled, sitting up and stretching. "Ya feeling alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She said, watching him snap his neck to the side with a satisfying crack.

He eyed her for a second before accepting her answer. "They back yet?"

"Naw, according to Carol and Andrea they should have been back a while ago." She sighed, looking towards the window.

"They'll be back." He said confidently, as he stood up and leaned forward, patting Cooper lightly on the belly.

"I know." She looked back up at him. "Thank you for staying with me, you shouldn't have done."

"Don't be silly." He went slightly red. "Coop stayed too. Baby ok?" he asked.

"I think so, yeah." She smiled. "My shoulder hurts a little though."

"Yeah, Maggie had to pop that back into place. It was pretty gross"

"That's explain it." She laughed lightly.

As they sat in silence for a minute, the distant sound of a car engine could be heard from a little while away outside. Ellie looked up at Daryl quickly. "Could be them!" she said eagerly.

Daryl nodded. "Yeah, stay here. I'm gonna go and check it out."

Ellie shook her head hard. "I'm fine, I'm coming too. Carol said I'm allowed to get up when I want to." She insisted. Daryl looked as though he was going to argue but instead he nodded and held the door open for her.

She gingerly lifted the covers and moved to stand up. She was wearing her jeans, rolled up and stained in blood, and her top. Her thighs were covered in white bandages, as were her arms.

"You look a right sight." Daryl said with a small cringe in his voice as he eyed her injuries. "You're better off just staying put and letting yourself heal."

"No. I am coming with you." She insisted, grabbing her jacket and shoes from the chair. Cooper stood up and hopped off the bed, moving to stand next to Daryl.

She slipped on her boots with some discomfort and followed them both out of the bedroom door just as the car came down the drive way.

…

As they reached the porch, the car pulled up outside of the house. The rest of the group were stood in a huddle on the steps, waiting for the men to get out of the car. Maggie ran to greet Glenn and Hershel as they exited the car and as Rick stepped out, Lori and Carl ran forward and pulled him into a hug. Ellie noticed how Shane watched on sourly.

"Are you hurt?" Ellie heard Lori ask Rick. He shook his head and took in her bruised face and arms.

"No, but what happened to you?" He questioned.

"We were in a car accident." She said quietly, looking down at the floor.

"We?" Rick questioned further.

"Ellie too." Daryl said, walking forward and joining the small group of people next to the car.

Rick snapped his eyes up to Ellie and took in her injuries. "How did this happen?"

"Beth was sick, in a real bad way. We needed Hershel." Ellie insisted, watching as Rick's eyes went wide.

"I looked down for a second, but a walker walked in front of us." Lori finished.

"Snuck out on their own. I bought them back." Shane interrupted. Lori rolled her eyes.

"Yes Shane, thank you." Ellie snapped, glaring at the man she had grown to dislike. "We didn't sneak anywhere though."

"Are you crazy? You both could have been killed." Rick growled angrily before Shane could reply.

"Rick, I-." Lori began, but T dog cut across her.

"Who the hell is that?!"

Everyone rushed forward and peered into the window that T dog had pointed to. Ellie felt Daryl tense next to her as they both stared at the young man slouched in the back seat of the car. There was a second of silence and then Glenn spoke up.

"That's Randell."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter thirteen.

"We couldn't have just left him behind. He'd have bled out." Rick stated to the group. Everyone sat in the dining room of the house, squeezed on chairs and slouched against the walls. Ellie had perched herself on the floor near the door, with Cooper relaxing half on her legs. She absentmindedly ran her hands through his fur as she listened to what Rick was saying. Daryl towered above her, standing next to her in a tense stance.

"If he would have lived that long. It's getting bad in town." Glenn added with frown.

"What do we do with him?" Andrea asked loudly from the back of the room, standing close to Shane.

"I've repaired his calf muscle the best I can but he'll probably have further nerve damage. He'll be off of his feet for at least a week, maybe more." Hershel chipped in, hovering by the doorway.

"Well… when he is, we give him a canteen, take him out to the main road and send him on his way." Rick tried to reason, half to the group and half to himself it seemed.

"Isn't that the same as leaving him for the walkers?" Ellie questioned. Several heads turned to look at her and she felt herself go red.

"He'll have a fighting chance." Rick answered.

"Just gonna let him go?" Shane demanded. "He knows where we are."

"He was blindfolded the whole way here." Glenn said, shaking his head.

"He isn't a threat." Rick agreed, shaking his head at Shane.

"I'm sorry, you kill three of their men. You took one of them hostage. But they just aren't gonna come looking, right?" Shane snorted sarcastically. Ellie shifted uncomfortably, preparing herself for another Shane bomb to blow up.

"They left him for dead. No one is looking." Rick reasoned, in a loud voice.

"We should still post a guard." T dog suggest. Several people made noises of agreement.

"He's out cold right now. Will be for a few hours." Hershel quietly commented to the room.

"You know, I'm gonna go and get him some flowers and candy." Shane spat, thumping down his fist and jumping up. "Look at this folks, we are back in fantasy land again." He scoffed and pushed past Andrea and Maggie, stomping out of the door way.

"You know, we haven't even dealt with what you did at my barn yet!" Hershel shouted angrily after Shane, surprising Ellie and the rest of the room. "Let me make this perfectly clear once and for all-" Shane stopped and turned on the spot, staring down at Hershel. The old man didn't even flinch under his hard stare. "-This is my farm. Now I wanted you gone, but Rick talked me out of it. That doesn't mean I have to like it, so do us both a favor, keep your mouth shut."

Shane bit down hard on his lip and tilted his head to the side slightly, before turning hard and stalking out of the door, slamming it behind him. Ellie let out a breath and glanced up a Daryl. He was staring after Shane with a glare.

"Now look, we aren't going to do anything about it today. Let's just all cool off." Rick said calmly, taking a seat at the table. Andrea looked angry, and she shook her head slightly as she moved and followed Shane out of the door.

Everyone stood up and made their way out of the dining room. Ellie huffed as she pushed Cooper off of her slightly, making the dog whine in annoyance.

"Sorry." She muttered to him with an eye roll. A hand appeared by her face and she looked up. Daryl was staring down at her, hand outstretched. She smiled slightly and placed her small hand into his large rough one, and he yanked her gently to her feet.

"Cheers." She nodded, brushing her top down smoothly. He nodded back and began to walk out of the house. She hurried along behind him. "Where are you going?"

"Camp." He muttered quietly, bending to pick up a stick and throwing it ahead of them. Cooper barked once and raced off to fetch it. Ellie couldn't help but chuckle at him as he bought it back. Daryl threw it again.

"Mind if I come?" she asked, getting the feeling that he might want to be alone. He glanced back at her briefly and shrugged.

Man and dog continued the game of fetch the whole way up to the tent. Ellie laughed when Cooper would get distracted by a bird or a bee occasionally. When they reached their small patch of home, Daryl dropped to the ground with a groan and stretched out on the grass, shoving his arm behind his head. Ellie smiled and sat down next to him, cross legged. She sighed as the cool air blew in her hair and whipped across her face. She could see the small figures of Andrea and Shane in the field and wondered what they were talking about.

A snuffle made her glance to her left.

"Cooper, what on earth have you got there?" she asked out loud, eyeing the huge chunk of tree in the dog's mouth. "Dumb dog. That's not food you know."

She chuckled at him and began to stroke his back as he settled down beside her, licking the tree bark. She turned and glanced at Daryl, who was watching her in amusement.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothin'. It's nice up 'ere, away from everyone, that's all." Daryl sighed, closing his eyes.

"You aren't away from me." She pointed out, and then quickly blushed.

He was silent for a minute. "Better that way." He finally said, peeking through one eye to stare at her rosy cheeks. She smiled at him and began picking the grass out of the ground at her feet.

"What did you used to do, before the world went to shit?" Ellie asked after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

"Not much. I was between jobs mostly, doing and bit of this and that, too busy tryin' to keep my stupid ass brother out of prison. Always cleanin' up his mess. My old man was never sober enough to do it." Daryl said, his eyes remained shut while he talked. "You?"

Ellie was so surprised that he had actually opened up to her that it took her a few seconds to reply. "Oh. Erm, I worked in the local daycare center in my town. Good hours, crap pay."

"You know, I can picture you working with kids." Daryl grinned from where he laid.

"Thanks?" Ellie questioned, chuckling quietly.

"You still got family out there or anything." Daryl asked after a few minutes. Ellie cocked her head to the side and grimaced before answering.

"No." she sighed deeply, feeling an ache in her heart. "It was only me and my mum left anyway. My little sister Harriet died about four years ago. She was only eleven when she was diagnosed with Leukemia. Fought hard though, for a year and a half. She almost kicked cancer's ass but a year into recovery, it came back, stronger than before and she was taken within a month. Mum lost it, and we lost mum. She went into some kind of shock. Took me and dad the best part of two years to get her to come back to us."

Ellie paused when she felt a hand on her back. She looked around and saw Daryl had sat up and moved closer to her, looking down at her with sad eyes. She smiled at him and he began rubbing her back softly.

"Dad died a year after. Heart attack. He hadn't been great for a long while. So when Dad died, I never quite got my mum back again. When the world started going to shit, I begged her to come with me, but she didn't. One got her within the first few days of the outbreak. That was hard. Our neighbor was there and she took care of it. I wasn't as strong then."

"I'm so sorry." Daryl mumbled into her shoulder, pulling her closer to him. "I shouldn't have asked. It was a stupid question."

"No, I'm glad you did. I feel better talking about it." Ellie reassured him. She wasn't lying. She had a strange numbness to the pain of losing her family now and it felt nice to just remember them with someone else. She was beginning to forget their faces without the constant pictures in her house to remind her.

"I… I'm sorry that happened to ya." Daryl said, refusing to let her go. He made a comfortable back rest.

"It's ok. Life's just a bitch." She laughed lightly, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Tell me about it." Daryl agreed.

"You wanna talk about your family?" Ellie asked, treading carefully as she felt this could be a touchy subject for him. He shook his head firmly and continued to look out across the fields. Ellie understood. It was hard to talk about the people you might never see again. After a few seconds, Daryl surprised her by speaking a low, deep mumble.

"My father was a lazy, abusive alcoholic, my brother is a drug addict criminal and my mother left me alone in the mess. Opted out."

It was a simple statement, but Ellie could see the relief in Daryl's face to just get it out in one sentence. She didn't push him into taking it any further. She noticed how he didn't refer to his brother in past tense.

"You have any more tattoos?" she asked, trying to lighten the mood. Daryl let out a booming laugh, shaking against her as she leaned into him.

"After all that shit, you wanna know if I have tattoos?" he wheezed, still chuckling. "Where's ya head at woman?"

"Come on, do you?" Ellie insisted, ignoring his teasing. He grinned down at her.

"Yeah, too many to keep count."

"Oh." She felt her cheeks heat up as she pictured his body. "Aren't you going to ask me if I have any?" she asked.

"You? Aren't you a little miss goody?" he smirked, poking fun at her. She raised her eyebrow and frowned. "Go on then, do ya?"

"Yes actually." She huffed, in mock upset. "Three."

"What are they?" Daryl asked in surprise, curiosity evident in his voice.

"Well, wouldn't you love to know." She teased.

"Aww come on!" He whined. Cooper's ear's pricked up at the noise and they both laughed.

"I have this one." She lifted up the edge of her top and showed him the small cluster of daisies on her right rib cage. "They were my sister's favorite flower. And this one." She showed him the small robin just below her collar bone on her left side. "That's because I love everything about the winter and Christmas time."

Daryl looked at both of them closely. "And the third?" he asked.

"I've got a fox on my hip." She said, pointing to the spot under her jeans.

"Let's see it." He insisted with a smirk.

"No." Ellie laughed. "Anyway, that one is just because I like foxes."

Daryl laughed at her comment and rested his head back on her shoulder. "You are full of surprises El."

She chuckled lightly and let him pull her backwards so that they were laying down, with her head on his chest and their legs entwined. She leant in and they stayed there in a comfortable silence.

"We should head to the others." She said after a long while. She hated herself for saying it but she could see everyone gathered at the camp. Daryl groaned against her hair and she felt the rumble in his chest. "There are jobs to be done."

"Fine." Daryl huffed, but when Ellie tried to untangle herself from him and stand up, he slipped an arm around her waist and held her there. "Five more minutes."

Ellie smiled. "Fine."

…

The rest of the day passed quickly. Ellie had spent a few hours on watch, perched on top of the RV, and the rest doing chores around camp. She had washed clothes, peeled potatoes, tidied beds and books and mostly kept her mind busy. Each time she remembered that she had spent the morning snuggled up to Daryl her cheeks went red and she felt the familiar sick feeling of anxiety in her stomach.

Everyone in camp knew about her baby now. It seemed that Maggie had told several people and news spreads fast. She didn't mind though, it was better that everyone knew. She was currently sat in one of the more comfortable chairs around the camp fire, spooning in her potato and leek soup like there was no tomorrow. Glenn gave her a funny look a commented that she wasn't having time to taste it. She rolled her eyes and continued to shovel it in. She watched the small figure of Daryl patrol the perimeter of the camp and smile slightly.

After filling her stomach, she bid goodnight to everyone, and headed up the bank to bed. It had been a busy afternoon and she was feeling it. She crawled into the tent and sat on the floor, pulling out the top and shorts from her bag to wear as pajamas. Her jeans were beginning to dig in now as she slept. She stripped off her top and bra, and slid her baggy shirt down over her, enjoying the softness of the clean fabric. She stood in a crouch and peeled off the bloody jeans from her legs. She looked down at the bandages on her thighs and sighed. Just as she slipped one leg into her shorts she heard the sound of the tent zip and screamed, dropping to the floor and pulling her sleeping bag over her.

"El?" Daryl's confused voice called in the door way. He took one look and went red, quickly turning around and pulling down the zip. "Shit, sorry. I didn't see anything."

"You scared the shit out of me." She gasped, panting slightly.

"Sorry." He muttered.

She quickly pulled her shorts up and climbed into her blankets. "It's safe to come in now." She called, with a small hint of embarrassment in her face. Daryl entered looking sheepish.

"You know," he began. "I should have looked, maybe I'd have seen that tattoo that you refuse to show me."

"Daryl!" Ellie exclaimed, going red at his flirty comment. He let out a low chuckle before bending low and grabbing Cooper's food from her bag.

"You fed him yet?" he asked. She shook her head. He tipped some on the floor through the open tent door, and called Cooper over, who happily lapped up his meal. After he was done, Daryl zipped up the tent and crawled into his own bed.

"Who's on duty tonight?" Ellie asked, watching as Daryl pulled his shirt over his head.

"Rick and Dale until two and then Andrea and T dog take over until morning light." Daryl informed her with a yawn.

"Tired?" she whispered, making room of Cooper at the end of her bed.

"Yup. 'night." He murmured, already half asleep.

"Night Daryl."


	14. Chapter 14

_Thank you for all of the lovely comments._

Chapter fourteen.

The next week flew past in a blur. The camp was full of a strange uncomfortable atmosphere, everyone unsure and unsettled. The sun hadn't returned to its full blaze of heat, so the air stayed crisp and chilly. Jobs were being done at a great speed on camp, nobody really complaining at what they were asked to do. Each capable person stood guard in turn. One over the shed that housed the young boy Randell, and another sat perched on top of the RV as a look out.

Ellie's week had been filled with cooking, cleaning, guarding, sleeping. The cycle continued like a warehouse belt loop. She had spoken a little more to Maggie and Glenn this week, as her shift patterns fell into step with theirs. They made a lovely couple, in her opinion. Maggie was tough, made only stronger by the young Asian boy. She had also helped Lori out for much of this week with Carl and Beth. She kept Carl busy looking after and playing with Cooper while the two woman got thing done.

She had kept her distance from Shane, not that he was around the camp much, and Andrea. There was something off about her, the way she kept defending Shane's behavior. Ellie didn't like it. Unfortunately, Ellie though, she hadn't seen much of Dale this past week either. He had remained cooped up in his RV for many of the hours, or on watch instead. She decided that she'd have to make an effort to talk to him later.

She hadn't even had time to dwell on the fact that she hadn't seen much of Daryl this week too. He had taken to hunting squirrel and rabbits for the group in any spare time he received. Her cheeks heated up each time she thought about Daryl Dixon. Did she like him as something more? There was that flutter of anxiety again. After they had spent a morning last week embraced in each other's arms, after opening up about their past, they had spent little time in each other's company. The small amount of time they did see each other tended to be meal times, where Daryl would sit next to her, or on the short walk up to the tent, where they would remain mostly in silence. She was worried that he was starting to regret their time with together, after all he didn't seem like the most social man.

"We're heading out with Randell." Rick's voice shook her out of her thoughts, and she turned to watch as he addressed the group sat around the camp. "Myself and Shane that is."

"Where will ya'll take him?" T dog asked in a gruff voice.

"The main road. We plan to drive a good way out. Maybe eighteen miles or so, and find him somewhere to be dropped." Rick informed him, stood with his hands on his hips. She could see how well he suited being a cop before the world ended.

"And that's it?" Ellie asked doubtfully. "He'll go on his way and we can move on from this."

"I sure hope so." Rick nodded with a sigh. Shane scoffed but remained silent. "We won't be long. Andrea, you swap with Dale as look out in an hour or so."

No one said anything else as the men climbed into Shane's silver car. They had Randell in the back, hands tied and blindfolded. Ellie felt a shiver go across her as memories began to stir. She shook her head in an attempt to shake them away and looked down at the pan she was scrubbing. She continued quickly as she watched them drive away.

"You ok darling?" Carol asked, tapping her shoulder gently.

"Yeah." Ellie replied. "Just a little tired. Worried that this won't all work out the way we want."

"No one has come looking yet. Maybe Rick is right and there really isn't anyone looking to get him back." She suggested, with a small shrug.

Ellie looked up at the face of the woman next to her. She had tired eyes, which held so much emotion. She had surprised Ellie with the fact that she was up, moving, helping around camp. Ellie had only ever really seen one woman lose her child, and her mother took years to come back to anything near normal. Carol was strong, Ellie concluded. Stronger that anyone knew.

"I sure hope that's the case." She finally said, nodding slowly. "I'm almost finished up here, do you want help with anything?"

"No sweetie, I'm just going to find Patricia and offer may help with the animals. Why don't you just sit down for a little while? Rest. You've worked harder than most over this past week." Carol said sweetly.

Ellie nodded and watched as Carol walked over to the house and disappeared through the door.

…

Ellie had decided to take Carols advice, and took a seat into the shade, opening up one of the books she had borrowed from Maggie. After a short while, the noise of running feet made both her and Andrea look towards the house. Lori was jogging over to them, fast.

"Lori?" Ellie asked, standing up as the woman reached them. "Is everything ok?"

"Have either of you seen Maggie or Hershel?" she inquired frantically.

Andrea shook her head. "Haven't seen Hershel, but Maggie and Glenn walked by. Maybe twenty minutes ago?" she looked towards Ellie for confirmation. Ellie nodded in agreeance.

"Great, find her for me. I have to run back to the house!" she shouted, already turning and jogging away.

"Lori wait, what's happened?" Ellie called after her. Lori didn't reply.

"Go. I'll find Maggie." Andrea urged. Ellie nodded and began to run towards the house too, reaching the door and shooting inside.

"Lori?" she called out.

"In here."

Ellie ran through the hallway and skidded into Beth's current room. "What is it?"

Lori looked up and noticed that Maggie wasn't with her. "Maggie needs to come here now."

"Andrea is on it." Ellie panted, eyeing the skinny blonde sat in the bed. "Beth, is everything ok?"

There came no response. Lori tutted and stood up, grabbing Ellie by the arm and bringing her to the door way.

"She took a knife, hid it from me." She whispered, keeping her eyes on Beth.

Ellie's eyes widened. "You have it back now?"

"Yes. She was making small improvements, and now she's what? Suicidal?" Lori's voice grew slightly louder.

"I can hear you." Beth said quietly, not bothering to turn and look.

Ellie moved into the room and stood by her bed, crouching down slightly. "Beth, listen, it isn't as bad as it seems right now. You're alive and fighting. Isn't that what you should focus on?" Ellie knew it was crappy advice but she didn't know what else to say.

No response again.

"Beth please." She tried again, just as Maggie burst into the room.

"Beth!" she shouted, getting onto the end of the bed. Ellie moved out of the way and stood against the wall. "Are you crazy? What if dad finds out?"

"What's he going to do? Kill me for committing suicide?" Beth replied with a dead pan expression.

"Stop being such a brat." Maggie's voice sounded slightly calmer now. "He's die. So would I. This isn't just about you." Beth's eyes snapped up to Maggie at this comment. "We all lost mom."

"We'd lose each other and I couldn't stand that." Beth mumbled quietly.

"So you give up?" Maggie questioned loudly. Ellie felt awkward listening to such an intense family argument. She watched as Beth held Maggie's gaze for what felt like the longest time and then the shouting began.

"Let's give them some space." Ellie said quietly to Lori, ushering her out of the small room.

They reached the kitchen where Andrea was already stood and each leaned on and around the big counter top in the center, silent for a few minutes as the arguing from the bedroom filled their ears.

"Where's Hershel?" Andrea asked, breaking their silence. Ellie shrugged.

"Maggie didn't want him to find out yet." Lori said from her perch on the counter top. "It's a family affair. We'll let them work it out."

"That's working it out?" Andrea asked sarcastically. Ellie smiled slightly.

"You never fought with your family like that?" she asked. "God, me and my mother used to be like this for hours over the smallest of things."

"No." Andrea half snapped. "Amy mostly just admired me, followed me like a shadow and did whatever I said when she was little. I didn't see her often." She looked away into the window.

"Andrea lost her sister recently." Lori told Ellie.

"Oh, sorry. I remember you mentioned that a while back. I didn't think." Ellie felt a wave of guilt flood her. Andrea continued to stare out of the window.

"Anyway, when Beth stops fighting… that's when it will be time to worry." Lori pointed out, hopping down and helping herself to some cucumber from the table.

"This could have been handled better." Andrea sighed, turning back around. Ellie cocked her head in questioning, brows furrowed together.

"It could?" she asked. "How so?"

"You shouldn't have taken the knife away." Andrea said simply.

Lori and Ellie both looked at Andrea in pure confusion.

"Really?" Lori whispered angrily. Andrea held her ground.

"You were wrong." She shook her head as she spoke. "Like Dale taking my gun, that wasn't your decision."

"Andrea come on." Ellie tried to reason. Lori looked upset at Andrea's words.

"She has to choose to live on her own." Andrea insisted. "She has to find her own reasons."

"Want me to tie a noose for her too?" Lori remarked angrily. Ellie shifted uncomfortably. She had begun wrapping up the food on the table to busy her hands.

"If she is serious, she'll figure out a way." Andrea shot back.

"Does that mean that I can't stop her?" Lori accused with a fiery tone.

"We were just letting her know that we care." Ellie said in a hushed tone, stuffing plates into the fridge.

"That's got nothing to do with it. She only has so many choices in front of her." Andrea responded loudly, half glaring at the both of them.

"And she believes that the best one is suicide?" Ellie questioned skeptically.

"Yes." Andrea maintained. "She does."

"That can't be an option." Lori snapped at Andrea, throwing down her towel onto the counter.

"Of course it is." Andrea asserted. "She doesn't need to be yelled at or treated like a child."

"No, she just needs a loaded gun right?" Lori huffed. "You'll understand if we don't send you in there."

Andrea raised her eyebrows and glared at the pair of them. "I came through it."

"Yes, you're such a productive member of the group." Lori snapped, tipping some pots into the sink.

Ellie sensed the argument was beginning to heighten. "Let's just let Maggie handle it." She insisted quietly. Andrea brushed off her comment and leaned on the counter, staring hard at Lori.

"I contribute to the group. I help keep this place safe." She said with a frown.

"The men can handle this on their own. They don't need your help." Lori continued to clean as she spoke quietly. This time, Ellie frowned too. She helped with the guarding just as much as Andrea did. Even Maggie and Carol helped some of the time too.

"I'm sorry, what would you have me do? And Ellie at that matter. Carol? Maggie? We all help to guard." Andrea glared at Lori. Lori turned around sharply and threw her towel again.

"There is plenty of work to go around." She said.

"Lori, we all help do the house work." Ellie stood up straight and tried to reason with the woman.

"Are you serious?" Andrea interrupted, half shouting. "When everything starts to fall apart, you're in my face over damn laundry?"

"It's a burden on everyone else. Me, and Carol, Patricia… Maggie. Ellie does her share too, but you?" Lori fires, ignoring Ellie altogether.

"Perhaps you shouldn't talk for everyone Lori." Ellie snapped, getting slightly pissed off now. Lori shot her a look but continued to talk to Andrea.

"Cooking, cleaning and caring for Beth. You? You don't care about anyone but yourself. You sit up on top of that RV, working on your tan with a shot gun in your lap every chance you get."

"Lori, you're stepping out of line now." Ellie said loudly, staring at the brunette.

"You know, when I am up there, I am on watch against walkers. That's is what matters. Not fresh mint leaves and lemonade." Andrea argued back.

"We are providing stability. We are trying to create a life worth living." Lori insisted with a stern tone. Andrea didn't back down.

"Are you serious?" Andrea scoffed. "Why only me Lori? You don't say this to Ellie and the others."

Lori gave her an exasperated look. "Look, I went after Rick, I took down a walker-."

"Yeah and smashed Maggie's car up, ever apologized for that?" Andrea asked, drowning out the rest of Lori's sentence.

"Guys, come on, let's just-." Ellie began, but was cut off again by Lori.

"You're insane." She growled at Andrea.

"No you are! You're so self-centered, taking it all for granted." Andrea shot back.

"My husband is out there for the hundredth time!" Shouted Lori. "My son was shot! Don't you dare tell me that I take all of this for granted?"

"You don't get it do you? Your husband came back from the dead. Your son too. And now you've got a baby on the way. The rest of us have piled up our losses. Me, Carol, the Greens. But you just keep on keeping on. You play house, act like the queen bee? You lay down rules for everyone but yourself."

"Enough!" Ellie shouted. "Just stop. What are you both doing? My horse is bigger than your horse? Grow up, the pair of you. We have bigger problems that dishes not being done and arguing about this crap."

"You too!" Andrea shot at Ellie. "You have a bouncing bundle of joy. What a devastating thing to happen to you."

Ellie took a step back at her words. She knew nothing. "Shut the hell up. You know nothing about me or my life."

"You're right, I don't. I don't know the lot of you." Andrea screamed at them.

"Please, let's just stop this arguing." Ellie pleaded, turning to look between Lori and Andrea.

"You know what? You both go ahead." Andrea said angrily, but slightly quieter. "You go in there and tell that little girl that everything will be ok. Just like it is for you. She'll get a husband, a son, a bit on the side." She glared at Lori and then turned to Ellie. "A boyfriend… a baby."

Ellie frowned. What on earth was she on about boyfriend? Ellie didn't have a boyfriend. Lori looked livid at the taunt about Shane.

"She just has to look on the bright side, right?" Andrea concluded sarcastically, rolling her eyes and storming away from the kitchen. Lori and Ellie stood there for a moment in silence.

"I can't believe her." Lori huffed, turning back to the washing up.

Ellie didn't reply, but just quietly exited the room.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15.

The last two hours had consisted of a chaotic series of events. After leaving the house, Ellie had ambled down to the camp, and went about some cleaning, when Andrea bought the news of Beth. She took great pride in telling everyone how the young teen had chosen her own way in the world, the way of the living.

Rick and Shane had returned not half an hour later. Along with them came Randell. Rick had muttered something about how things had got complicated and they had no choice but to bring him back. When they questioned him further, it seemed that Randell knew of the Green's.

Daryl walked in on the conversation after being gone for the best part of the day. He hadn't said anything to her on his return, but did brush his hand against her arm as he walked past.

Now though, Ellie was perched on a pile of wood a short way away from the shed that housed Randell. She cringed at the sounds of his cries of pain and it saddened her to know that it was Daryl delivering those blows. She hadn't been there when it was decided that they should get all the information they could, or she would have argued against this method, but her voice fell on deaf ears after the decision had already been made.

After several more yelps and shouts from the shed, Daryl emerged with an angry expression and started walking towards her and the others. Ellie noticed that his knuckles were bloody and bruised. She frowned with a disapproving stare as her eyes met his.

He held her gaze for a few seconds before turning to his left and talking to Rick and the others. "Boy has a gang. Thirty men, with heavy artillery and they ain't lookin' to make friends." He paused and looked hard at Rick. "They roll through here? Our men will be dead and our woman will wish they were."

Ellie let her face drop into a blank expression as she processed Daryl's words. The woman will wish they were. She couldn't have it happen all over again. She could feel her heart hammering against her chest and her breath quicken. She turned her head and stared off into the next field, trying to get control over herself.

"What did you do?" she heard Carol ask.

"I had a chat with him." Daryl said blankly, moving closer to Ellie and watching her with a frown.

"No one goes near this guy." Rick demanded.

"Rick, what are you going to do?" Glenn asked loudly from the back of the group.

After a long pause, Rick answered quietly. "We have no choice, he's a threat. We _have_ to eliminate the threat. "

Ellie turned her head to look at Rick and the others. Dale had a horrified expression on his face as he took a step forward towards Rick. "You… You're just going to kill him?"

"It's settled. We'll do it today." Rick avoided Dale's eyes as he said this loudly. His head shook slightly as he turned and walked off, away from the group. Dale let out a gasp of breath and hurried after him, out of ear shot.

After the group dispersed their separate ways, Ellie stood up and arched her back with a groan. She looked around for Cooper and saw the dog happily bounding after Carl.

"Are you ok?" A gruff voice asked her. She closed her eyes for a second before looking into his.

"Yes." She said curtly and turned to walk up to their tent. He huffed and made to follow her. His larger strides meant that he caught up with her in seconds.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She sighed. "I just don't know why you had to do that to him."

"What?" Daryl grumbled, staring at her.

"Randell." She said, slightly more softly this time, meeting his eyes once again.

"Oh. We need that information El." He insisted, breaking the eye contact and frowning out into the field. "That group is full of vile, disgusting men. If we didn't know what we now know, and he left and told them about this place… the things that would happen to you, or Andrea, or Lori, Carol… Beth, Maggie, Patricia…" he trailed off once he saw her shiver.

Ellie gulped and tried to not let her mind go there.

"I can't have them get to you El. Ever." He whispered into the darkening sky with a deep sigh.

Ellie remained quiet for the longest time, feeling the flutter as Daryl's words comforted her more than she thought possible. Once they reached their tent, she turned to him.

"I'm not ok with how you did it."

Daryl let out a grunt.

"I know you are just trying to keep us safe though." she finished, sitting down on the grass.

He nodded his head in response.

"And yet again I bring up the fact that you weren't going to be _running around protecting my ass_ just over two weeks ago?" she joked quietly, trying to lighted the mood slightly. Daryl gave a short chuckle.

"Isn't the case any longer." He muttered with a half-smile, slouching down beside her.

She smiled back at him and glanced down at his knuckled. "Let me sort that out for you."

"It's nothin'." He insisted, brushing his hands against the grass.

"Daryl." She scolded, reaching into the tent and dragging her bag closer to her. She took out a wipe and reach out for his hands, bringing them onto her lap. Daryl remained silent, watching her in amusement. She carefully wiped away the dry crimson blood and frowned when she discovered that much of it was his, not just Randell's. He had opened up two cuts on his knuckles and bruising had already began to show. She tutted loudly and Daryl let out a gruff laugh.

"What?" she asked, still frowning.

"You, being so worried 'bout a tiny scrape. It's nothin' compared to what we've both had in the few weeks."

She guessed he had a point there. She remained silent as she finished cleaning him up and threw the bloody wipe into the small bag of trash that Daryl had.

"Um, thanks." Daryl said quietly, touching her arm with his fingertips. She looked up at him and gave him a small smile.

"It's ok." She replied, sighing slightly and leaning into his touch.

…

After a while, Daryl had moved to sit next to his pile of stick and was carving out more arrows for his cross bow. Ellie had moved into the tent, and was reading the book that she had borrowed from Maggie, feeing the ache in her stomach as she stretched out on her bed. Cooper had bounded up to them some time before and was now led at her feel, snoozing lightly.

Ellie heard heavy footsteps outside, and then Daryl's voice sounded through the door.

"Came up here to get away from you people." He muttered. Ellie waited silently before hearing Dale's slightly croaky voice reply.

"You'd have to do better than that. Is Ellie around too?"

"In the tent." Daryl said, and Ellie heard him shift on the twigs outside. She groaned slightly as she sat up and peered her head out of the tent door, blinking up at the two men.

"Hey Dale." she asked, moving to stand on the grass outside.

"Not sure that your new role in the group suits you." Dale said quietly to Daryl after nodding a hello at Ellie.

"This group, it's breaking. We'll be better off fending out ourselves." Daryl shot back, looking slightly put out.

"You act like you don't care." The old man observed. Daryl snorted and picked at a stick next to him.

"That's cause I don't." he grumbled, frowning at Dale.

"So… live or die, you don't care what happens to Randell?" he questioned. Ellie shifted uncomfortably at the question and wondered how Daryl would answer. She didn't have to wait long to find out.

"Nope." Daryl replied without missing a beat.

"What about you Ellie?" he asked her, turning his stare to meet her eyes.

She gulp and shook her head slightly. "I… I'm not sure that kill him is the best thing."

"Then why don't you both stand with me? Try to save the young boy's life, if it really doesn't matter one way or the other." Dale half begged, glancing between them both.

"Didn't peg you for a desperate son of a bitch." Daryl scoffed with narrowed eyes.

"Daryl." Ellie scolded, shaking her head at him. He looked at her for a second before rolling his eyes.

"You're opinion's make a difference." Dale continued, ignoring Daryl's snide remark.

Daryl pushed himself off of his log and scowled at the old man. "Ain't nobody looking at me for my opinion old man." He grumbled loudly.

"Ellie is. Carol is. I am." Dale argued back, looking at Daryl and Ellie with tired eyes. "You obviously have Rick's ear."

"Rick just looks to Shane. Let him." Daryl growled lightly, walking away slightly in frustration.

"You cared about what happened to Sophia, you both did." Ellie remained silent as Dale spoke delicately. "Cared what it meant to the group. Torturing people? That isn't you. You're a decent man, and so is Rick. Shane… he is different."

Ellie noticed how Dale looked almost scared by this. "Dale…" she said sympathetically, with sorry eyes, shaking her head slightly.

"Yeah, why's that?" Daryl asked, calmer now. "Because he killed Otis?"

Dale looked shocked at his words. "Who told you that?"

"It's just some story. How Otis covered him, saved his ass. Yet he showed up with a dead guy's gun." Ellie watched Daryl with wide eyes. "Rick ain't stupid. He didn't figure that out because he didn't wanna. It's like I said, the group's broken."

Daryl held Dale's stare for a few silent seconds before kicking a stone at his feet and turning to walk towards the trees slightly.

"And you?" Dale asked quietly to Ellie. "Have you lost hope too?"

Ellie sighed heavily. She knew that helping stand up for the boy was right, after all they had no proof on the matter of him actually being involved in gang activities but she was scared. Scared that she would lose what she had, scared that she would go through the exact same things that she had a few months ago. She thought about what Daryl had just said about the group, about it being broken. Had she any hope?

"Dale, I… I want this boy saved… I do, but…" she lost her words.

Dale looked at her with disappointment in his eyes. "I thought you were different Ellie. You've always stood up for the right thing, for what you believed was the right path. Why should this time be any different?"

Ellie paused for a second in thought. She glanced away and saw Daryl watching them for a short distance away with narrowed eyes. When she turned back to a desperate Dale, she spoke gently.

"This boy, we don't know him or what he is capable of, and I don't believe that we should let him go free… but I also don't think killing him is the answer. When I was on my own, you all welcomed me into your group, without knowing me… or what I was capable of. I'll stand with you Dale, and voice my opinion… but I can't do much if the decision doesn't go our way. I… I don't know what the answer is, but I do believe you are right in saying that the boy's life isn't ours to throw away."

Dale looked relieved at her words. He nodded once and muttered a thank you, and began to walk away from them back to the tent.

"Oh, and Dale… I admire the fact that you are doing this. You're a good man." She acknowledged, with a small sad smile. He returned the same face and carried on wondering off. Ellie dared to look away at Daryl and found him frowning at her with his brows furrowed. He stood there for a second longer before turning on the spot and stalking off into the trees. She shrugged slightly and turned away, making a move to go back into the tent to lay down. She had lots to process from their conversation with Dale.


	16. Chapter 16

_I'm sorry this chapter is just one scene of the TV show but it was such an important scene for me in the characters development in the show and I wanted that to come across in this chapter. Hope you all enjoy._

Chapter sixteen.

After a short while, or as long as it took Ellie to read over half more of her book, Rick had passed by the tent, and asked her to come down to the house for a group meeting. She asked about Daryl, and Rick had told her he was already there. She rose from her bed and started on towards the house, reaching it just as Rick addressed everyone. Cooper walked next to her, sniffing at the long grass as he followed. She reached down and rubbed his ear.

"Hey good boy." She muttered to him. "Are you ready for this? Yeah, me neither."

She reached the porch and stood followed Glenn into the house, as Rick gathered everyone together. Daryl was behind her suddenly, and placed a tentative hand on her back as she shuffled through the hallway. She didn't move it. It comforted her somehow.

As everyone filed into the dining room once again, Ellie had a sense of Deja vu. This time, she walked up and perched on the window seat at the front of the house, and Daryl leaned on the wall next to her. Cooper jumped up onto the seat as well and rested his head in her lap. Carl looked at his mum with hope but she shook her head slightly and he groaned and stomped off towards Jimmy's room.

Ellie looked across the room and her eyes met Dale's. She knew that this was the time they would have to voice their opinions. All around the room, sad faces looked down at the floor.

"So… how do we do this?" Glenn asked Rick. "Just take a vote?"

"Does it have to be unanimous?" Andrea questioned loudly after Glenn.

Lori sighed heavily. "Majority rules." She suggested.

Rick frowned and moved forward, holding the back of the dining room chair tightly. "Look, let's just see where everyone stands. After that, we can talk through the options."

"Well, the way I see it, only one way to move forward." Shane said, staring hard around the room. Ellie noticed Andrea shifted next to him and nodded slightly.

"Killing him." Dale stated, finishing Shane's sentence for him in disgust. "Right? I mean… why even bother to take a vote. It's clear which way the wind is blowing."

Rick exhaled loudly and turned to Dale. "Well if people believe that we should spare him, I wanna know."

"Well... I can tell you that it's a small group." Dale sighed with discomfort. "Maybe just me, Ellie and Glenn."

At these words Rick turned to look at Ellie, and then Glenn in turn. She could feel Daryl's eyes on her, but she kept facing Rick.

"I believe there are other ways." She said loudly. "We don't get to decide who dies for something we have no evidence of."

Glenn shifted uncomfortably, avoiding Dale's eyes. "Look, I think you're pretty much right about everything… but this…"

"They've got you scared." Dale cried loudly, pointing to the majority of the group sat at the dining table.

"He's not one of us. We've lost too many people already." Glenn tried to say back.

"Neither was I until a few weeks ago." Ellie said quietly with a grimace. "You let me stay just fine." She heard Daryl make a huffing noise to her left.

"That's not the same thing." Glenn muttered.

"You weren't from a gang of rapists." Andrea fired at her at the same time. Everyone looked slightly put out by her statement. Ellie gave her a hard stare and felt a tear prick in her eye.

"You don't know that. You don't. You didn't know anything about me or where I have come from… or what my old group were capable of." Ellie cried loudly, shaking slightly.

Andrea opened her mouth to reply but no words came out so she shut it again. Everyone was still and tense, silent as the night. Ellie felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Daryl watching her with worry. She shook her head slightly and leaned into his touch.

"Well then, how about you, do you agree with this?" Dale directed at the Green's after a moment of apprehensive atmosphere passed.

Maggie looked at Dale for a second before biting her lip. "Can't we continue to keep him prisoner?"

"Just another mouth to feed." Daryl muttered from her side in a low voice.

Hershel shifted in his seat. "It may be a lean winter."

"We could ration better." Ellie suggested, visibly calmer now.

Shane shook his head hard. "Not with this amount of people. A kid. Two pregnant woman."

"He could be an asset." Dale pointed out, ignoring Shane's comment. "Give him a chance to prove himself."

"Put him to work?" Carol questioned with a doubtful face.

Rick shook his head. "We are not lettin' him walk around."

"We could put an escort on him." Maggie proposed with a shrug.

"Yeah? Who wants to volunteer for that duty?" Shane sniggered.

Dale stepped forward. "I will."

"Me too." Ellie offered.

"No you won't." Daryl barked immediately after she said it. "You ain't going near him."

Ellie huffed in response and opened her mouth to tell him that he couldn't tell her what to do, when Rick cut across her.

"I don't think any of us should be walking around with this guy."

"He's right." Lori agreed from next to Rick. "I wouldn't feel safe unless he tied up."

Ellie shot her a look.

"We can't exactly put chains around his ankles and sentence him to hard labour." Andrea stated, looking around at the group with her arms crossed.

"Look, say we let him join us right? Maybe he's helpful, maybe he's nice. Maybe we let our guard down and he runs off, brings back his thirty men." Shane paints a picture to the group. Ellie risked a glance up at Daryl and found him looking at Shane with a hard face and a tense jaw.

"So the answer is to kill him?" Ellie asked in frustration.

"For a crime that he may never even attempt?" Dale added in exasperation. It felt like two against the whole world at this point. "If we do this, we are saying that there is no hope. Rule of law is dead. There is no civilisation anymore." He continued in anger.

Shane scoffed and muttered a cure word under his breath and many of the others looked at the floor in sad shame. Ellie glared around the room, and sighed heavily. It was a lost cause.

"Could you drive him further out? Leave him like you planned." Hershel voiced after another silent moment.

Rick shook his head.

"They barely came back this time." Lori pointed out. "There are walkers. You could break down, get lost…"

"Could get ambushed." Daryl added quietly. Ellie glanced up at him and he avoided her eyes.

"I think that we shouldn't be putting our own at risk." T dog nodded in agreement, speaking for the first time in the meeting.

"If you… go through with it… how would you do it? Will he suffer?" Patricia asked in a small, sad voice, staring up at Rick from her seat next to Hershel. Everyone looked up at Rick, waiting for his answer with unease.

"We could hang him, right? Just snap his neck." Shane suggested, in a calm voice. Ellie's eyes went wide and she felt her stomach drop.

She watched as Rick shifted from one foot to the other uncomfortably, with a grimace on his face. "I thought about that. Shooting may be more humane."

"What about the body? Do we bury him?" T dog asked to the group.

"Woah, hold on." Dale shouted, his croaking voice filling the room. Ellie noticed how his eyes were wide and tired, piercing into everyone's faces with disbelief. "Hold on. You're talking about this like it's already been decided."

"Look man, we've been talking all day." Daryl voiced, causing Ellie to jump a little. She looked up at him with a stern face. "We are going around in circles… just wanna go around in circles again?"

Ellie felt as though she should be mad at him for being so 'for' this young boy losing his life but she could see some kind of light to his decision. He was from another way of life to her, a much rougher, ruthless way and this is how he felt best to keep himself and his group safe. She understood him to some degree and this was what stopped her from scolding him for his words, even though she felt that this wasn't the route to take.

"This is a young man's life!" Dale cried, throwing his hands into the air. "It's worth more than a five minute conversation. Is this what it has come to? We kill someone because we can't decide what else to do with them?" He looked to Ellie and she nodded her head in support, consciously knowing that they were fighting a lost cause anyway.

"You saved him." She pointed out to Rick, with a frown.

Dale nodded in agreement. "Exactly. But now? He's been tortured, he's will be executed… how are we any better than those people that we are so afraid of?" Dale looked around at the room filled with people who looked guiltily at the ground. Ellie ran her hands through Cooper's fur and took a deep breath.

"We all know what needs to be done." Shane muttered from his corner, rubbing his hand over his head.

Rick shook on the spot slightly. "No." he said. "Dale is right. We can't leave any stone unturned here, we have a responsibility."

Andrea and Shane both let out a groan. Daryl shifted slightly next to Ellie and dropped his hand from her shoulder.

"What's the other solution then? We haven't come up with a single viable option yet. I wish we could but-." Andrea demanded to the room. Shane huffed and bit down on his lip. Ellie noticed Glenn make eye contact with Maggie and then Hershel.

"So let's work on it!" Dale proposed in a rough cry.

"Stop it. Just stop it." Carol said from her seat. "I'm sick of everyone arguing and fighting. I didn't ask for this. You can't ask us to decide the fate of this guy. Please decide. Either of you or both of you but leave me out of it."

"Not speaking out, or killing him yourself. What difference is there?" Dale fired in a deathly cold tone to the group. Ellie was slightly shocked at the poor man's words.

"Alright, that's enough." Rick muttered, holding out a hand. "Anybody wants the floor before we make a final decision, has the chance."

Everyone was silent for a minute, either staring around the room with wide eyes or looking down at the floor with a guilty expression. Ellie stole a glance up at Daryl and her eyes met his as he stared right back at her, shaking his head slightly as if he knew what she was going to say. She ignored him and after sharing a long look with Dale, she spoke loudly.

"If we do this… we will lose ourselves. I don't want to live in the kind of world where we don't look out for each other, not just the people we call family but anyone in the fucked up world who needs a helping hand."

She paused and saw Dale smile a sad smile at her.

"I can't change the way anyone else thinks, or what they will choose, but I can do my bit and have my say and not sit there in silence, waiting for judgement to pass by without opening my mouth." Ellie said in a scarily calm voice. The attention of everyone in the room was hooked on her, and this gave her the courage to continue.

"I'm not stupid. I know that Dale's and my voices may be lost in the anger you and I have for this guy, but when it comes down to it and you will have taken a kid's life…" she swallowed and took a deep breath.

"When you do nothing, you are powerless and pointless. When you try, get involved in trying… you have a sense of hope in people and knowing that you have at least tried to make things better will help you keep from going insane in this shitty world. Who are we becoming? I'm not sure that I want to find out. My vote will remain to save the boy's life. We are not gods. We are not executioners."

She glanced around the room and watched as one by one the heads the watched her turned to the floor again. Guilt and frustration clear on most faces. Only Shane, Andrea and Rick held her gaze. Daryl was breathing heavily next to her, his arms folded and brows furrowed.

"I couldn't agree more. This isn't a life to be gambled Rick, it's a kid's life. Heck, he could grow to be the next Glenn, or Hershel or you. We aren't giving him his chance at life if we end it." Dale cried out, directing his shouts at Rick. "You once said that we don't kill the living."

"That was before the living tried to kill us." Rick moaned loudly.

"But don't you see, Ellie is right. If we do this, the people that we were, the world that we knew is dead. This new world, it's ugly. It's harsh." He stuttered as he spoke. "It, it… It's survival of the fittest. That's a world that I don't want to live in. I don't believe that any of you do. I CAN'T!"

Ellie watches as Dale's expression became more and more pained.

"Please." He muttered, looking defeated. "Let's just do what is right."

Dale stood ringing his hat in his hands and staring around at the group. Ellie nodded at Dale and looked around in faint hope that others would agree. She was scare of what would become of Dale when the old man realised that the hope was lost.

"Isn't there anybody else that is going to stand with Ellie and me?" he asked, wide eyed and sad faced. The room remained silent and almost cold. The heavy conversation had begun to weigh down on the shoulders of each person sat in there. Lori and Glenn looked to the window, avoiding eye contact and Carol held her head in her hands. T dog held Dale's gaze for a few second before sighing and looking away. Andrea and Shane stood tall and hard, faces unchanged from their blank expressions. The Green's sat huddled on the dining chairs, heads low and unmoving. Rick was pacing the doorway, glancing around the room. Ellie looked up at Daryl.

"Daryl?" she asked quietly. He held her stare for a second longer than she assumed he would and shook his head softly.

"Sorry El."

Ellie huffed out a puff of air and let her shoulder drop. The look on Dale's face said it all. And then Andrea spoke.

"They're right." She said, causing Ellie and Dale to raise their eyebrows in shock. "We should try to find another way."

Shane glared at Andrea when she turned to him and scoffed.

"Anybody else?" Rick said in a hoarse voice, looking around the room. Nobody else moved or spoke.

Dale had tears in his eyes as Rick turned to him.

"Are you all going to watch too?" he asked quietly, shaking with frustration. Ellie felt so sorry for the old man. "No, you'll go and hide your heads in your tents, your beds. You'll go about your day and try to forget that we are slaughtering an innocent life. Oh… I won't be a party to it." Dale took a deep breath and began to walk out of the door, before pausing and looking over directly at Daryl. Daryl met his eyes. "This group… is broken."

Daryl clenched his jaw and watched as the old man left the room, defeated and broken. Ellie wiped away the hot angry tears that had escaped her eyes, and beckoned Cooper to her side.

Without a word, she followed Dale out of the room. She half expected Daryl to follow but he didn't. Once outside, she looked around but couldn't see where Dale had gone, so instead she started off towards her tent, with Cooper in tow, heaving heavy sighs and letting a few more tears fall with a sniff.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter seventeen.

The air was colder now and the darkness filled the sky like a blanket. Out here, the stars were visible as shining lights in the dark, littering the sheet of black. The wind lashed the leaves in the trees above the tents like a whip. An eerie atmosphere had bled its way through camp, overwhelming everyone to the extreme. The crisp cold didn't bother Ellie enough for her to notice the slight chatter of her lips. Her mind was elsewhere.

She sat halfway up the hill between her tent and the others. Cooper was stretched out at the base of the tree next to her, lazily gnawing on some wood. She held her knees up to her chest and stared blankly at the shadows of the men on the far end of the field, next to the barn. They had left a while ago now. Daryl. Shane. Rick. All off to give the death sentence to a boy not much younger than herself. She hadn't begged Daryl not to go. She hadn't held him at her side and refused to let go. She let him leave, knowing exactly where he was going and what for. She didn't want the boy dead by any means, but she understood the fear that everyone had, and their reasoning for their decision, no matter how cruel. She couldn't stop them, and a tiny part of her didn't want to. A tiny part that she hid away, ignoring. The part that feared what men like Randell could do, given half the chance. The part that remembered the pain that she had felt when the slimy hands of Simon slithered over her body and into her knickers. The part that left her crying for weeks after she had made her escape.

She felt her breath quicken and her heart hammer, and she quickly made an attempt at controlling it, shaking the thoughts of that night from her mind, and instead focusing on breathing in and out, slowly. Cooper whined loudly to her left and moved to her, placing his head on her stomach. She looked down at him with a small smile.

"I'm ok Cooper, don't worry about me."

She stroked his ears and rubbed his furry stomach, letting out a small chuckle at his content, dopey face.

"Ellie?"

Ellie snapped her eyes up and saw Glenn in front of her. "Hey."

"Can I sit?" He asked, his hands in his pockets.

"Of course." She nodded, pointing at the ground to her right. "What's up?"

"I feel awful for what I said back in the house." He confessed, his face looked younger in the dark. "I don't regret my decision but it wasn't an easy one to come to."

"I know." She said simply, staring in the night.

Glenn frowned at her slightly. "You aren't mad that I didn't try and stop them too?"

"No." she replied.

"Dale is."

"You thought it was the right thing to do. For you, the group… Maggie."

Glenn looked down sheepishly.

"How are things going with her?" She asked.

"Good, uhh, I think." He blushed. "She's perfect."

"I like her." Ellie agreed with a smile. "She's a good one. Strong. You suit each other."

Glenn smiled back in response. They sat in silence for a few seconds, before he spoke.

"What's with you and Dixon?"

"Daryl? I don't know." She answered honestly.

"He's incredibly protective of you." Glenn observed, looking at her face to see her reaction. She looked back at him with an eye roll.

"I know."

"You like him?" he asked cautiously.

"Yes."

"More than you like me, and Rick and Dale and T dog? More than just someone you share a camp with?" he pushed.

Ellie stared at him for a second before replying.

"Yes." She answered.

He grinned.

"But you come in second, don't worry." She joked.

"I'm glad." He chuckled slightly. "You know, Dixon needs someone like you. He's a decent man, someone who I'm happy to have in my group when the world is ending, but he pushes himself away from us. Since you've been around, he's better. He's been doing more than hunting and chasing after Merle."

"Merle's his brother, right? What happened to him?"

"He got left in Atlanta on our last supply run in. That's where we met Rick too. Had no idea that Lori was his wife and Carl was his son, mind you. Anyway, Merle was dangerous, shooting his gun off and beating on Tee. Rick cuffed him to a bar on the roof to stop him from hurting anyone else. When the Geeks broke down the doors, we all ran. Tee stopped to undo the cuffs but dropped the key down a drain. Tee chained the door before he left, which was more than I would have done. When we got back to camp, Daryl was pissed. Went from Rick a few times before Rick offered to go back and get old Merle."

Glenn paused and looked up at her, watching as her eyes went wide.

"We got back there and found Merle's hand on the roof."

"The walkers got him?" she asked in a whisper.

Glenn shook his head. "No. He sawed it off himself, and escaped through the fire exit. We don't know where he is or if he is even alive. Daryl seems to think he is. Good old Merle Dixon, the meth head."

Ellie took a moment to process this information. She hasn't realized that this was how Daryl had lost his brother.

"Merle wasn't a favorite of yours then?" she joked halfheartedly. Glenn shook his head vigorously. He stared at her for a moment longer before leaning back on her hands and stretching his legs out in front of him.

"So, do you think they've done it yet?" He asked in a soft whisper, straining his eyes to see the barn.

Ellie shook her head.

"What makes you so sure?"

"There hasn't been a gun shot." She answered simply. Glenn nodded in agreement.

"They've been gone long enough. Think they'll change their minds?" he questioned in thought.

Ellie shrugged her shoulders and frowned. "Not if Shane has anything to do with it."

"I don't like him." Glenn grumbled. Ellie made a noise of agreement.

"He's a dick. Andrea seems to like him though." She pointed out.

Glenn nodded. "She's changed."

"We all have." Ellie agreed seriously. She let out a heavy sigh and watched as the shadows of the men retreated away from the barn, just a blur in the dark.

"No gun shot." Glenn observed again, exchanging a look with Ellie.

"No gun shot." She repeated, with a confused expression as they both stood up and wondered down to the camp.

…

Rick and Carl came walking back into camp. The young boy looked down at the ground in shame as his father kept a firm hand on his shoulder. Lori's eyes went wide as she took in the two figures. Everyone looked at each other and then back to Rick as he approached. Glenn and Ellie exchanged a confused glance.

"We're keeping him in custody for now." Rick said clearly to the group.

Ellie was shocked at his words. She hadn't expected them to change their minds. Glenn and Tee, Lori and Carol all looked at Rick for more information but he shook his head slightly and rubbed his stubble with his hand.

"I'm going to go and find Dale." Andrea said loudly into the night, a small smile on her lips. Ellie nodded in agreement as she watched the blonde woman disappear.

"Carl, go inside." Lori said firmly to the young lad. He looked at his mother guiltily and followed her instructions.

"He followed us." Rick informed Lori. "He wanted to watch. I couldn't."

"It's ok." Lori reassured him with a shake of her head. "That's ok." Ellie watched as Lori pulled him into a tight embrace.

Everyone began to move to their tents, or to sit around the fire. Glenn looked at Ellie and gave a small smile before moving to talk to Maggie in the shadows of the nearly tree. T dog had slouched into a chair near the fire and looked like his mind was far from here.

As Ellie let out a breath and began to walk towards a seat by the fire, she heard it. A scream so intense that it made her skin crawl and her stomach drop. It didn't stop after one. The screaming went on and on as she turned and began to run towards the field it had come from. Others were running too. Rick and Tee, Glenn and Maggie.

To her left she saw Daryl legging it towards the body that she could now see hunched over something on the floor. The screams had turned to strangled moans by the time she reached their source and she fell to the floor at the sight of Dale led there, being ripped from the stomach up by the filthy dead that feasted on him.

"Nooo!" she screamed.

The walker on top of him was thrown aside by Daryl who had launched himself at the creature. He kicked its head and drove a knife into its skull, ending the growls and moans of its hungry form. Ellie crawled forward and held Dale's head in her lap, staring down at him with eyes that were pooled with tears, making her vision blurry.

"Dale." She sobbed.

"Hang in there buddy." Daryl called to Dale before screaming the others. "Help! Run!"

"Dale!" People were screaming as more arrived at the scene. "No!"

"Dale… I… I don't know what to do." Ellie cried as she stroked the old man's hair with hand. Daryl crouched down beside them and held her shoulders with his hands.

"Dale, no, please!" Andrea wept, holding his hand next to him.

Rick looked at the sight in horror. "Listen to me, it's going to be alright, okay. Someone get Hershel! Hang in there, listen to me." He choked out crouching down next to Dale too.

Dale let out a series of gurgling noises as blood began to seep its way out of the corner of his mouth. Ellie wiped it away with her sleeve as she cradled his head in her lap.

"Hang on Dale." Andrea begged, clutching at his shirt, and heaving heavy sobs.

Tears fell from Ellie's eyes and splashed onto her she held him, close. "We're here Dale, we are all here." The old man shook in her arms.

"Hershel! We need Hershel!" Rick shouted into the night, desperation evident in his strained voice.

Hershel came running across the field and knelt down next to Dale's shivering body.

"What can we do?" Ellie cried, wiping away Dale's tears and blood alike. Daryl knelt behind her and bought his arms around her, holding her firmly. She moved her head so it was resting on his chest as she left her tears to slide freely down her cheeks.

"Can we move him?" Rick demanded urgently.

Hershel shook his head. "He won't make the trip."

"You'll have to do the operation here then!" Ellie and Rick cried together, both staring at the white haired man with wide eyes.

Hershel looked at them both sadly and shook his head. Rick gasped in grief and shook his head. Ellie's own head fell in anguish.

"No!" she sobbed over Dale, still stroking his hair. "No."

"Oh god!" Andrea wept loudly.

"Nothing? Nothing can be done?" Glenn asked in desperation. Hershel gave another shake of the head.

"I'm sorry." He said.

Ellie looked around at the others. Carol, Lori and Patricia had tears running down their cheeks. Shane and Tee looked helpless as they watched the scene, standing slightly back. Glenn looked broken as he fell to his knees at Dale's feet. She looked back down at the man on her lap, staring at him through thick tears.

"Dale, I'm so sorry." She whispered, her voice cracking through the pain of her words.

Dale squirmed and winced in agony, in too much pain to say anything. More gurgles escaped his lips. Rick lowered himself slowly and pulled out his gun.

"He's suffering." Andrea whimpered. "He's hurting."

"Do something!" Ellie shouted, begging Rick to make Dale's pain end.

Rick looked around at the group before drawing his gun up to Dale's body with a pained expression, tears in his eyes.

"Oh god." Andrea whined, turning away from his body but still grasping his hand. Carol made a whimpering noise behind Glenn and also turned around. Ellie looked at Rick, and then at the gun and finally at Dale. She looked into his eyes, and saw the pleading for the pain to stop.

"Shush." She softly said to him, stroking his head like a mother would her child. "It's going to be ok. You're not going to suffer anymore. We love you Dale." She felt her eyes well up and she turned her head into Daryl's shoulder. Daryl kept one arm around her but released her with his other one.

"Hey." She heard Daryl say. "It's ok. Let me."

She felt him shift slightly and assumed he had taken the gun from Rick. He gentle shifted Dale's head off of her lap and pulled her away slightly.

"Sorry brother." She heard his gravelly voice whisper before the gun shot ring into the air.

….


	18. Chapter 18

_The song in this chapter is Father and Daughter by Paul Simon._

Chapter eighteen.

Ellie hadn't slept well that night. Her eyes were heavy and sore from all of the tears that fell but her mind was a blurred mess, flitting here and there. She hadn't known Dale for very long, but he was always kind to her and they had bonded over the last few days.

Daryl had left for a few hours at around midnight to take a turn on watch, and when he returned a little before sun rise, Ellie was still led awake.

"El, have you slept at all?" he muttered to her as he crouched through the opening of the tent with a groan.

She shook her head as she watched him throw down his crossbow next to his bed.

"You need sleep. You look tired as hell." He said, taking in her sleepy red eyes and chaotic hair. She gave in a weak smile. He was always so concerned about her.

"I know, I'm trying." She said in a whispered sigh. Daryl looked at her for a minute before pulling his shirt over his head and throwing that on the floor too, keeping his front to her.

"Thinkin' about everything? Dale is in a better place now." He said.

"I guess." Ellie shifted in her blankets and sat up to take a drink of water from her bag.

"How was being on watch tonight?" she asked as she cracked open the lid of the bottle in her hands.

Daryl replied in a gruff voice. "Was ok. Nothin' much to see, or do. Glenn wasn't the worse company I guess."

Ellie nodded. As she put the bottle to her lips, Cooper jumped up from where he was lying next to her, knocking her arm and sending the bottle flying onto her bed.

"Cooper!" she shouted in surprise, before sighing and scooping up the now empty bottle. Daryl let out a low snigger from beside her as he watched her shake off her blanket. Cooper ignored Ellie and climbed onto the end of Daryl's bed, happily receiving a belly rub from the chuckling man.

"It isn't funny!" she whispered angrily, looking her soaked bed with frustration.

"Naw, sorry El." Daryl said with one last chortle. "Is it really bad?"

Ellie sighed loudly. "It's completely soaked through! It was the entire bottle!"

"He didn't mean to." Daryl pointed out, continuing to give Cooper lots of affection. Ellie frowned at them both.

"I know that but now I don't have a bed."

"Have mine." Daryl offered.

Ellie shook her head. "No, it's fine. I'll just stick on my coat."

"Don't be stupid woman, take the bed."

Daryl looked at her hard, daring her to argue further.

"No." she said simply.

"Why?" he asked with a groan.

"It's yours." She replied, rolling up her wet bed to make room on the floor.

"That's a terrible excuse. Take the bed." He emphasized each of the last three words heavily.

Ellie shook her head, avoiding his eyes.

"Fine, you don't want me out of it, then join me." He said daringly, with a smirk.

"What?" she asked, with a slight blush in her cheeks.

Daryl patted the bed he was sat on. "Join me. I am not letting you sleep anywhere else and you won't let me, so this is really the only option."

Ellie rolled her tired eyes in his direction. The ache in her body was flooding back into her limbs and she felt as though she would collapse at any minute.

"Fine." She said. "Only because I'm much too exhausted to argue though." She reached out for his hand and he helped her climb through the tent and into the covers of his bed. She felt him shift in next to her and his body heat radiated off onto her like a hot water bottle. She had fully expected it to been an awkward affair, but instead found herself sighing in content. She was warm and comfortable and felt very secure.

"Thank you." She muttered, shifting onto her side. Daryl pulled up the blankets a little further.

"Don't need to thank me El." He said. "You ok?"

"Yeah." She replied sleepily. The night sky had started to lighten slightly.

"Good. Night El." Daryl mumbled near her ear, causing her to shiver slightly.

"Good night Daryl." She breathed drowsily.

…

A few hours of sleep later, El woke up to a nose in her face. The big, wet nose of Cooper.

"Hey Coops." She said with a croaky voice, squinting through one open eye. She coughed once before continuing. "You hungry boy?"

Cooper gave a sniff at her bag on the floor and she took that as a yes. She took a second to close her eye and yawned loudly, stretching her back. A heavy weight weighed her down at the waist, and she looked down to see Daryl's large tanned arm was flung over her body, and his face lay resting on her shoulder. He was snoring slightly.

She smiled at his sleeping face. He looked at peace while he slept. Her cheeks burned when she realized that his bare chest was pressed up again her body, and she took a second to greedily take in the sight of his tattoos.

She wiggled free from his arm with a sigh, freezing for a second as he gave a long groan before he turned over. She let out a small chuckle before stretching properly this time and patting Cooper on his head. Her eyes burned and her head hurt but she knew that she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep again. She looked down at her stomach and smiled.

She was starting to show slightly more now, a tiny bump in the center of her stomach, jutting out from between her hips. She caressed her stomach lovingly before bending forward and grabbing some food for Cooper. They climbed out of the tent together and into the cool air of the morning.

The sun was out today, warming up the ground slightly. Ellie blinked in the light and leaned down to spread out some food for her hungry companion, who happily began to lap it up. She took this opportunity to sit down on the dewy grass and stretched out her legs, laying back onto the floor. The fresh smell of earth flooded her sense as it was somehow comforting. It reminded her of Daryl. She rubbed her belly softly, and stared up into the sky.

As her mind wondered, she found herself remembering the song that her dad had sang to her on their last fishing trip. He had sat on the boat in the middle of the lake, guitar in hand and looking at her with love. She was extra nervous this time because she was having a go at catching their dinner herself, without help.

She had asked him if their singing would scare off the fish, and he had replied that it didn't matter, and that he wanted to sing to her anyway. It was his way of helping her when she was nervous.

She smiled at the memory and began to sing softly into the sky.

"If you ever awake, in the mirror of a bad dream, and for a fraction of a second, you can't remember where you are, just open your window and follow your memories upstream." She held a hand on her stomach as her voice continued, quiet and sweet. "To the meadow in the mountain where we counted every falling star, I believe the light that shines on you will shine on you forever. And though I can't guarantee there's nothing scary hidin' under your bed, I'm gonna stand guard like the postcard of the golden retriever and never leave 'Til I leave you with a sweet dream in your head."

She took in a deep breath humming ever so slightly before watching the clouds move in the sky and continuing.

"I'm gonna watch you shine, gonna watch you grow. Gonna paint a sign so you always know, as long as one and one is two… Ooh ooh… There could never be a father love his daughter more than I love you. Trust your intuition. It's just like going fishin'. You cast your line and hope you get a bite but you don't need to waste your time worryin' about the marketplace, trying to help the human race struggling to survive. It's as harsh as night. I'm gonna watch you shine, gonna watch you grow. Gonna paint a sign so you always know as long as one and one is two… Ooh ooh… There could never be a father love his daughter more than I love you."

She felt a tear slide down her cheek as she smiled at the happy memory of her dad, and their weekends fishing. It wasn't often she had a chance to remember him anymore. She heard a shuffle inside the tent and Daryl's head poked out of the door, followed by his body and legs.

"Hey." He said quietly, eyeing her wearily.

"Morning." She replied with a small smile.

"El, are you crying?" he asked, moving closer to where she was, now sat up.

She shook her head. "Not sad. I'm happy."

"You are?" he questioned further, reaching down and wiping her single tear from her cheek with his finger. "You're crying because you're happy?"

She nodded. "I was remembering my father and our weekends together. We would always go fishing on the last weekend of the month. Down to the lake, in our boat. I would live for those weekends. I always thought of it as my special treat."

Daryl smiled. "That song?" he probed further. "That was from your father?"

She nodded again. "He used to sing it to me when I was younger. Whenever I got anxious or scare. Sometimes when he put me to bed too."

Daryl shifted onto his other foot. "It's a good song. He sounds like a good man."

"Thanks." Ellie laughed quietly. "He was the best."

"Sorry about what happened to him."

Ellie nodded a thanks.

"Are you ready for this?" Daryl asked, nodding in the direction of the group. Ellie shook her head.

"No."

"I'll be right next to you." He said comfortingly.

"Thanks Daryl."

Daryl nodded and suggested that they made their way down to the others, helping her up as they set off.

…

Once Dale's body had been recovered and the hole had been dug in the shade of some trees, it was time to bury him. Ellie's heart hurt as she watched Glenn and T dog lower him into the grave and pile the dirt onto him. Everyone was stood around him in silence, watching the two men at work until they had finished, and joined the crowd of watchers.

It looked peaceful here, a nice place to have your body laid to rest Ellie though. Rick stepped forward from the group and began to talk.

"Dale could get under your skin. He sure got under mine, because he wasn't afraid to say exactly what he thought, how he felt. That kind of honesty is rare, and brave." He looked back at Ellie and Daryl as he said this. "Whenever I would make a decision I'd look at Dale, and he'd be looking back at me with that look he had."

Ellie smiled as Rick said this and let a tear slide from her eyes to the bottom of her cheek. Daryl rubbed her good shoulder in small circles. She glanced around and saw Andrea and Glenn had the same reaction.

"We've all seen it one time or another. I couldn't always read him but he could read us. He saw people for who they were. He knew things about us. The truth." Rick paused for a second, staring at the grave. "Who we really are. In the end, he was talking about losing our humanity. He said this group was broken."

Ellie looked up at Daryl who held her gaze with sad eyes. She reached a hand up to his one on her shoulder and squeezed lightly.

"The best way to honor him is to un-break it. Set aside out differences and pull together. Stop feeling sorry for ourselves. Take control of our lives, our safety, and our future. We are not broken. We're gonna prove him wrong. From now on we are gonna do it his way. That is how we honor Dale."

Ellie nodded along with Rick's statement and kept hold of Daryl hand, her eyes fixed on the dug earth. She just wished that he was here to hear these words.

After a few moment of respectful silence, everyone started to leave, few by few, until it was just Andrea, Ellie and Daryl left at the grave side. Ellie looked up at Daryl.

"You ready?" Daryl asked her. She shook her head.

"You head on back. I'm gonna sit here for a few more minutes."

Daryl looked between her and Andrea and nodded. "I'll be getting ready to head out." He told her before swinging his crossbow over his shoulder and walking back to camp. She watched his retreating figure for a few seconds before turning to the blonde woman next to her.

"Andrea, are you ok?" she asked hesitantly, stepping forward. The other woman looked up at her with a stony face and stared at her.

"I guess." She muttered, kneeling down next to Dale's grave. Ellie copied her, using her good side to support herself.

"It's ok." Ellie tried to soothe.

Andrea's head whipped around to face her. "You think everything's ok? Really?" she snapped. Ellie sighed loudly.

"No. Nothing seems to be ok for us anymore. But Dale? He is. He's resting peacefully. He isn't here to be scared or hurt anymore, and that's ok."

Ellie watched as Andrea's eyes softened at her words. Her shields came down and her eyes pooled with tears.

"Ellie, I'm sorry." She cried. "I've been such a sour person lately, pushing you all away. Dale told me so many times and I was horrible to him."

"We've all been there, even before this crap all happened. Don't push yourself into guilt." Ellie said, putting a hand on Andrea's shoulder with a comforting squeeze.

"I said awful things to you." She pointed out in a broken voice.

"I know." Ellie said simply. "And I was pissed at you. I don't hold you to it though."

Andrea looked up at her. "You should. I shot Daryl."

"That was a mistake."

"You told me to stop. You said. I should have listened to you." She cried.

Ellie nodded slowly. "Yes, you should have but you were doing what you thought was best."

Andrea stayed silent for a while before talking again. "He was a good man."

Ellie nodded. "He really was. Did you know him before the world ended? It seemed like you did."

"No. He rescued me and Amy from a load of walkers. Turned up like an old knight in a shining RV, wearing that stupid fisherman's hat. We owed him our lives. We stayed with him after that, and he looked out for us like we were his family." Ellie watched as her lips trembled. "He would always talk about his wife, Irma, and how they planned to travel the world in that old bus."

They both let out a small laugh.

"I bet. I wish I could have heard some of them." Ellie said sadly.

"You don't" Andrea giggled through her tears. "They went on for hours."

They both sat in silence again, watching the birds in the trees and the clouds move in the sky until their tears dried. Ellie was glad that they had made peace with each other now. They both stood up after a short while and began to walk back to the camp.

"So tell me…" Andrea began after a few seconds. "Are you and Daryl…?"

Ellie rolled her eyes at the woman. "Are you kidding me? Why is everyone so nosy?"

Andrea chuckled. "This is all the gossip we get. Get used to it." She teased.

"Not the only gossip." Ellie muttered sulkily. "You and Shane?"

Andrea flushed and made a face. "I don't know. We've been _close_." She put lots of emphasis on the last word.

"Andrea!" Ellie gasped with a laugh. She nudged Andrea's shoulder.

"Oh come on Ellie. It's the end of the freaking world." She smirked. "You can't tell me that you haven't done anything with Dixon!"

"I haven't!" Ellie protested, blushing red.

Andrea laughed. "Yeah maybe, but you want to!" Ellie shook her head and rolled her eyes at her. "There's so much sexual tension between the two of you!"

"Andrea!" Ellie exclaimed again. "Stop."

Andrea smirked and gave her a teasing grin. "End of the world Ellie. Don't wait until you're dead and regretting it."

Ellie huffed and hit the blonde on the shoulder lightly. "Shush!"

They both laughed lightly as they rounded the corner of the house.

"Alright then. New subject! Have you got any name ideas?" Andrea asked, touching Ellie's stomach lightly.

Ellie smiled and looked down at her small bump. "I don't know. I have a few but nothing solid."

"It must be strange." Andrea expressed. "Knowing you're having a baby but not doing all of the normal baby things. Baby showers, shopping for clothes and toys..."

"Yeah." Ellie said with a sad smile.

"Oh god, sorry. I didn't think. I shouldn't have said-."

"It's alright Andrea." Ellie assured her. "I've had plenty of time to come to terms with it."

"Oh. Yeah, I suppose." Andrea said and then threw Ellie an uncomfortable look.

"What?"

"Did you… you know… Were you with the father? Did you lose him to the walkers or something?" she asked cautiously, eyeing Ellie carefully.

Ellie sighed. "No. I didn't really even know him. Met him on the road after the world went crazy." She said in almost a whisper.

Andrea looked puzzled for a second. "And you moan at me for hooking up with Shane!" she teased.

"No. It wasn't like that." Ellie shook her head, looking at Andrea. "He wasn't a good man. He did horrible things to innocent people. And I was one of them."

Andrea gasped and shot Ellie a shocked look. "I'm so sorry. You… your reaction to what I said back in the house… that was because of this! I'm so sorry Ellie."

"Stop, don't be silly, you didn't know. I've had a lot of time to deal with it, and I am not going to let it stop me from living, from trusting, from being who I am. I really don't want to keep talking about it right now though, if that's ok." Ellie muttered, whilst putting a reassuring hand on Andrea's arm.

They entered the circle of tents and gave each other a smile.

"Thank you Ellie." Andrea said with a nod.

Ellie returned the thanks and watched as Andrea headed over to talk to Tdog and Carol. Something about their conversation was playing on her mind. _Don't wait until you're dead and regretting it._

Ellie then turned around and headed towards the man stood next their tent at the top of the small hill. She could see that Cooper was chasing some birds in the shrubs next to him.

"Hey." She said as she approached.

"Hey." He muttered back, wiping his bow with a rag.

"Got something for ya." She told him, standing a few feet away from him.

Daryl looked up at her with a questioning gaze. "Yeah? What?" he asked.

Ellie held is gaze as she took a breath, before stepping closer and colliding her lips with his.


	19. Chapter 19

_Thank you for all of the lovely reviews. It's so nice to hear that you are all enjoying where I am taking this story._

Chapter nineteen.

As her lips met his, she reached for his shoulders to stable herself and he let go of the bow and bought his hands up to her waist. She felt him kissing her back, much more softly and gently that she was expecting. Her fingers reached behind him and grasped his hair as he ran his hands down her back and to her hips. She moaned into the kiss and his grip tightened. And then it was over, as quickly, or so it felt for Ellie, as it had begun. They looked at each other for a second, holding an intense stare at the other's eyes before Daryl cleared his throat.

"Err. I um…" He mumbled, holding his neck with one hand, and letting the other fall from her waist. He stood there awkwardly, unable to find words.

Ellie blushed and felt suddenly embarrassed at his reaction. He didn't want that kiss. She dropped both hands from his neck and spun around quickly so that her back was to him. She didn't want him to see the pools of tears that had flooded into her eyes at the hint of a rejection.

"Sorry." She choked before starting to run off into the wooded area the other side of the hill.

"Ellie!" Daryl called. "El, wait!"

She heard the sound of footsteps and slowed down to a walk. There was no use running, he was much quicker that she was.

"El!" Daryl called as he reached her. "Why are ya running away for?"

Ellie wiped her eyes with her sleeve, refusing to face him.

"Ellie!" he half growled in frustration, grabbing her arm lightly when she tried to walk again. "Please talk to me."

Ellie bit down on her lip and turned to him, letting a few tears fall onto her cheeks. Daryl looked confused and fearful.

"Why are you running off cryin' for? What did I do?" he asked, looking bewildered. She frowned at him.

"You… you didn't want to." She cried, stepping away from him slightly. "I shouldn't have kissed you. I'm so stupid."

"What?" Daryl frowned, puzzled. "I didn't say that!"

"You didn't have to. I could tell." She said, looking at the ground. "I get it. Why would you want me anyway, I'm nothing but a burden."

Daryl looked annoyed at this statement. "What the hell are ya on about?"

"I'm sure there's someone better… maybe Andrea or Carol… someone who isn't pathetic and knocked up." She sniffed and wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

Daryl shook his head in confusion. "Ellie, what are ya saying woman? I want you… knocked up or otherwise. It makes no difference to me."

She looked up at him with wide eyes. "But you pulled away, you were trying to find the words to-."

"-tryin to find the words to talk, yeah. I'm no good with this kinda stuff." He admitted with a blush.

"You… you wanted me to kiss you?" she repeated unsure.

"Yes, you silly woman!" he exclaimed. "Course I wanted to kiss ya."

Ellie took a shaky sigh. "I felt so stupid, thought I'd ruined everything by not thinking." She confessed.

Daryl shook his head. "Ya haven't ruined anything. You just did what I've been tryin to work up the nerve to do." Ellie let out a relieved giggle through her tears. "What made you do it?" he asked.

"Just something Andrea said to me earlier." Ellie said. "About dying with regrets. I would have regretted it if I didn't kiss you."

Daryl chuckled this time, and took a step towards her. "You…" he began. "Have done something to me El. I've never cared about anyone in my life like I care for you. No one."

Ellie blushed harder now, her cheeks glowing a crimson red. "You haven't?"

"No. Dixons don't get close enough to people to get hurt but you… I can't stay away from you."

Ellie stayed silent and allowed Daryl to pull her into a hug, his big arms around her shoulder and waist. She relaxed into his grip and took in another shuddery breath. She was so stupid, damn hormones.

"You woman are so confusing." Daryl muttered into her ear, followed by a deep chuckle. "Jumping to conclusions all the damn time."

"I'm sorry." She whispered, resting her head on his chest and closing her eyes. Her cheeks were quickly drying with tears now, leaving them cold in the wind of the shade. Daryl reached a hand up to her ringlets and twisted one with his finger.

"Just promise me that you won't run away again curls." He asked in a weak voice that didn't sound like it belonged to him.

"I swear it." She said, holding onto him tightly.

…

In the afternoon sun, a large group stood around the blue pickup truck a short way from the house. Ellie was leaning against the tree that was shading them all from the heat, throwing a stick for Cooper to fetch every few seconds, listening to the conversation going on between Hershel and Rick.

Hershel had offered their camp a space in his house to sleep from now on, after the risk of walkers scared everyone last night. Rick had mentioned about it being tight with fifteen people and a dog in the house. Hershel shook his head softly and agree with Rick that they'd make it work. Maggie made a good show of pointing out that with the farm animals on the property, they'd be target for a hungry walker's next meal.

Ellie glanced around and noticed Beth stood a short way behind her sister, looking peaky but much better than she had in days. Ellie gave her a small smile when the young girl looked up and she returned it shyly.

"Alright." She heard Rick say, and looked up at him. "Shane, Glenn, Andrea, let's move each of the vehicles near the doors, facing out towards the road. Well put a look out in the windmill and another in the barn. That should give us plenty of security. Tdog, you take the perimeter around the house, keep track of everyone coming and going."

"What about standing guard?" He asked Rick, hoisting his gun strap up and over his head.

"I need everyone on double duty."

"Got ya." He mumbled and headed off, followed by the people moving the cars. Daryl looked across at Ellie with a grumpy face.

"What about patrols?" Ellie asked, stifling a laugh at Daryl.

"Let's get this place sorted first. After that Shane will assign shifts while me and Daryl take Randell off site and cut him loose."

Ellie nodded slowly at this. Shane scowled at Rick and Daryl.

"Back to that now?" he asked in a pissed off tone.

Rick nodded. "It was the right plan, we just did it wrong."

Shane scoffed. "Yeah, that's a slight understatement."

"You don't agree? This is what's happening so swallow it." Rick said forcefully, stepping forward and placing a hand the truck.

Daryl shifted across from Ellie and was staring hard at Shane.

"You know that Dale's death and the prisoner… that's two separate things right?" Shane pointed out sulkily.

"It's decided Shane." Ellie said from her spot by the tree. "Move on."

Shane threw her a look before turning back to Rick. "Wanna take Daryl as your wing man, you go right ahead."

"Thank you." Rick said with a blank expression before walking away.

"You got it." Shane spat, kicking the stones by his feet. One landed near Cooper and he gave a small warning growl at Shane. "Shut it mutt."

"Don't." Ellie warned, glaring at Shane before heading off towards her tent, with Cooper and Daryl following her.

Together they began to pack up their things, and folded the tent down into a heap.

"How do you feel about moving into the house?" Ellie asked him as she lifted her bag onto her back.

Daryl shot her a look that said everything about how he felt about the move. "Lemme carry that for ya."

"It's ok, I've got it." She said, pushing his outstretched hand away.

"Stubborn woman." He muttered playfully, picking up his own two bags and the tent. "Let's go."

As they reached the door of the house, Rick called Daryl's name from over by the cars. Daryl rolled his eyes but threw down his things on the porch and turned to Ellie.

"Find me a good spot?" he asked.

"Sure thing." She said, watching him run off towards Rick.

She heaved her bag up a little higher and beckoned Cooper into the house. The rooms were full of people. Immediately she avoided the downstairs and climbed up to the second floor. Right at the end of the hall way was the only room that she found untouched and free. It was the room that she had been in twice before. Once when she was in the car crash, and once when Daryl was shot. It felt like forever ago but it had only been a few weeks. She sighed and threw her bag down onto the bed. This room would do. She wondered if Daryl would be happy sharing with her again. She set Cooper's pillow down under the window and ran back down stairs to grab Daryl's things. She knew he wouldn't be thrilled to find out she had done this but it wasn't like she wasn't capable.

When she was halfway up the stairs, she felt someone take a bag from her shoulder. Turning quickly, she saw the familiar blue eyes of Daryl Dixon.

"You scared me!" she breathed, holding her hand to her chest. He chuckled and swung the bag onto his back in one swift motion, and then grabbed the tent from her hands.

"What do ya think you're doin'?" he demanded in his gravelly voice. "I can carry my own stuff."

"I know, I was just helping out is all." She said with a small smile.

Daryl shook his head, smiling that half smile that made Ellie's stomach twist into a knot. "Where are we staying?"

" _We_?" she teased. "What makes you think I want to share a room with you _again_?"

Daryl scoff daringly. "Because I know ya do curls. You can't resist me, remember."

Ellie blushed and grinned. "End of the hall." She said.

He smirked and passed her on the landing, throwing his things into the room. "You like this room or something'? Always seem to meet in here."

She laughed. "I know, its fate for sure."

"No injuries this time please." He moaned.

They both chuckled, and Daryl took a step closer to Ellie, reaching out for her hand, pulling her closer. He slipped a hand under her chin and bought her face up to his.

"Can I kiss ya this time?" he asked in a whisper. She couldn't find words to reply. She could barely hear him over her hammering heart. All she could do was nod, and felt his cool lips on her burning hot ones.

…

Daryl had announced that he had to go down and start on fixing the shed housing Randell after a few minutes and Ellie told him that she be down helping everyone get settled. After they parted ways, Ellie and Cooper made their way into the dining room. She could hear small conversations buzzing here and there, and noticed that the house seemed a whole lot smaller now.

Maggie brushed past her looking confused and annoyed. Ellie held out her arm to catch Maggie's shoulder.

"What's up?" she questioned as the farm girl stopped and turned to her.

Maggie shrugged, and looked over at where Glenn had started setting up his things. "I don't know what's up with him."

"Maybe he just needs a little space?" Ellie suggested, with a frown.

"Yeah, probably. Urgh, men are so hard to read." She moaned. "Woman are easy, men not so much."

"You know they say the same thing about us right?" Ellie laughed, causing Maggie to let out a small snigger.

"I guess. Where are you stayin?" she asked.

Ellie pointed to the top floor. "Room at the end of the hall. It didn't look claimed. If it is I can move."

Maggie shook her head. "Naw, it's free. Is that red neck of yours staying with you?"

"Daryl." Ellie corrected her. "Yeah."

"At least your man want to." She grumbled, looking at Glenn again.

"Yeah but Daryl doesn't have my father living under the same roof." Ellie pointed out.

Maggie sighed and nodded. "I suppose you're right."

"Give him a little time to adjust."

"I will. Thank Ellie." Maggie said, before swinging on the banister and heading up the stairs.

Ellie continued through to the porch and spotted Lori lifting things from the cars.

"Anything I can do?" she asked as she approached.

"Just trying to get everything inside." Lori said, heaving a box over the back of the truck.

"I'll help." She suggested, grasping hold of a green cool box and lifting it too. It was heavier that Ellie was expecting and she stumbled slightly under the weight.

"Hey," she heard Tee shout as he ran down the steps. "Don't strain yourselves. I can do this."

Ellie rolled her eyes at him. "I'm a big girl Tee, I can lift a cool box."

He frowned at her, and grabbed the box that Lori was lifting.

"Ya'll shouldn't be lifting in your conditions." He said.

"I can't just sit around." Ellie laughed, shifting the box onto the floor. Tdog rolled his eyes at her this time.

"Thank you." Lori said, giving her box over to him. "We're in the living room." She directed him.

"You can go in my room." Hershel said, walking down the porch steps. "You'll be more comfortable there. And Ellie, you are in the spare room down the hall correct?"

Ellie nodded. "I can move."

"No need, just making sure you both have a decent bed to sleep in."

"We can't take your room Hershel." Lori said with a shake of her head.

"Pregnant women and children sleeping on the floor while I've got a bed to myself?" Hershel mocked.

"It's your house." Lori said.

Hershel shook his head. "It's alright. No more discussing it." He said.

"Thank you." Ellie and Lori said together. Hershel gave them a nod and picked up a box to carry inside.

Ellie went about getting another box down when she noticed Lori starting off into the edge of the field. She looked up and saw that Shane was us on the windmill, hammering.

"Lori." Ellie warned. Lori looked at her before shrugging.

"Just a chat." She said, before setting her box down. "I'll be right back."

Ellie stayed silent as she watched her go, choosing to keep her nose out of their business.

…

After she had finished up with the cars, she wondered around the side of the house and spotted Daryl and Rick leaning over a map on the fence of the porch. She caught Daryl's eye and he nodded at her to come over to them. She called Cooper and they joined the men.

"Take him out here, a couple miles give or take." Rick was saying, pointing at the map. "We may lose the light, but we'll be halfway home by then."

Daryl nodded, bending to stroke Cooper's ears as the dog entwined himself in Daryl's legs. "This whole pain in the ass will be a distant memory."

"That's a good thing." Ellie added with a nod.

"Carol's putting together some provisions for him. Enough to last a few days." Rick commented.

"We can spare it?" Daryl asked, rubbing his neck.

"We have to." Ellie said simply. The men looked at her and nodded.

Ellie looked out and saw Shane's car speeding towards the house, leaving a trail of dust from the gravel in its wake.

Rick glances at Ellie before addressing Daryl. "That thing you did last night…"

Daryl sighed. "Ain't no reason that ya should do all the heavy lifting?"

Rick nodded slowly as Shane's car parked up outside. "So you good with all this? Both of you?" he asked.

"I don't see you and I throwin punches on the side of the road." Daryl said with a nod. Ellie let out a small chuckle and nodded too.

Shane got out of his car and headed towards where they were all stood. Daryl shifted uncomfortably and grabbed Ellie's sleeve.

"I'm gonna go take a piss." He told Rick, before dragging Ellie along behind him, whistling for Cooper.

"Am I gonna hold it for you or something?" Ellie asked in a jokey voice.

"What?" Daryl asked, arching his brows.

"You're supposedly going to take a piss… and you are dragging me along too?" she pointed out.

"Don't need one. Just couldn't be asked for another conversation with that prick." He grumbles, nodding in the direction of Shane's car.

"Aww, but I really wanted to stay and chat." She teased, watching as his face turned into a scowl. "Joking. Geez Dixon, lighten up. Haven't you heard? It's the end of the world." She giggled. He watched her laughing for a few seconds before letting a grin slip. He liked it when she laughed. He liked the noise she made, a sound like bells and then a small wheeze. He liked the way her eyes lit up slightly and her dimples deepened. He even liked the way her nose scrunched up into a crinkle.

"Daryl?" Ellie asked, snapping Daryl out of his trance.

"Yeah?"

"I asked where you were off to now."

"Oh." He said, shaking away his thought in a very un-Daryl like daze. "Not sure."

"We should head back to the house and see if there is anything we can do to help then." She suggested. She knew there was lots to be done. He nodded and followed slightly behind her as they walked around to the front door of the farm house.

…


End file.
